The Black Ones
by rcleaver
Summary: Kurotsuchi is partnered with the Head of the Counter-Terrorism Division to lead a mission commissioned by the Shinobi Union. In the middle of it, her heart strings were tugged. Things would get complicated from there... Story starts 4 years after the Shinobi War. Mainly Kankuro x Kurotsuchi. Plot would expand in later chapters. Disclaimer: I don't own 'Naruto'.
1. The Land of Iron

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**Chapter 1: The Land of Iron**

The howling blizzard spelled trouble for the two Sand Ninjas en route to the Land of Iron. Seeing white specks of ice flying around erratically had them considered to take shelter at the nearest giant rabbit burrow the young men passed half an hour ago.  
They were used to encountering dry spells, wild sandstorms and blistering heat waves so the duo, instinctively, retreated in crossing the terrain they were least comfortable with. No matter how worse the desert becomes, it was something they could  
deal with ease. And it is helping them now — blizzards and sandstorms can be dealt with through the same solution: waiting.  
While tracing back the burrow, the pair scanned for anything that could pass off as a hideout.

"How is your fever?" The older man asked his companion of higher stature.

Before replying, the redhead pulled down the scarf and face mask that covered his face. His face was flushed. "Still bad but better than earlier. We can sprint back to that burrow," He had contracted the fever a week before. His brother and right hand  
man, Kankuro, had advised him to stay and recuperate in the Sand Village rather than attend to the Emergency Meeting called by the Tsuchikage and the Head Samurai. Gaara insisted on leaving their village earlier so they can travel at a slower pace.  
But it didn't help the Kazekage's condition which he keeps on lying about.

Kankuro sighed. "I can hear your wheezing, Gaara. I can almost feel your temperature from where I'm at. Stop being a baby and tell me the truth."

Realizing that he has been caught, Gaara's shoulders drooped.

"It's that bad huh?" The Puppet Ninja mused verbally. "Ride on my back." He put down his puppet scrolls and crouched down.

"It's fine. I can—"

"We're not in Suna. Hurry up; the blizzard is catching up." He snapped back.  
Gaara reluctantly climbed over his brother's back. All sorts of worry filled his thoughts. The first one is how he and Kankuro would survive in the Land of Iron... in the middle of nowhere. His second concern was how he would function at the Emergency  
Meeting. His fever was not getting any better and it has been a week, maybe it was something much more chronic than a usual flu. He never got sick (except those mild cases of cough and colds, stomachaches and other silly illnesses) unless, something  
else was messing with his system. Thirdly, since Kankuro caught him faking his health, then it's likely that he won't leave the Land of Iron until the source and cure of his malady is known. He knows his older brother too well; Kankuro would lock  
him in the infirmary and carry out the Kazekage's duties on his behalf if needed. The last and his most urgent concern would be how Kankuro would carry a person, a sand gourd and massive ninja scrolls in one go.

"I know what you're thinking…" Kankuro scoffed, "I'm asking the same question myself." To say that he's not the most intellectual among them siblings is an understatement. But is was compensated by his eye on details. Kankuro had seen how medical  
ninjas carried their paatients on their backs. He tied a cloth around the gourd, Gaara and his torso for support and carried his scrolls with one hand. The Sand Nin noticed the wind is becoming colder which alarmed him. He thought he needed to make  
a run for the burrow or else its game over for them.

"Hang on tight." He told his brother.

While speeding through, Kankuro noticed how adverse Gaara's self-proclaimed "fever" was. It was as if his little brother was a heater strapped on his back. Although, it helped Kankuro keep warm and more focused at the snowy threat chasing them at a frightening  
speed.

I have to hurry, the Puppet Master thought.

Finding the giant rabbit burrow was a piece of cake for the jounin. He evaluated the area and noticed no anomalies. When he looked inside the burrow though, he saw a brown, two-foot long, giant rabbit protecting her rabbit kittens. It was ready to attack.  
Kankuro chuckled a bit. He removed his cat-like headgear and the giant rabbit started to relax.

"Must have thought I was a cat or lynx." He told the rabbit. "Can I rent this place? My brother is not feeling well. I'm not expecting you to answer back but don't try clawing on Gaara or you all will be dinner." He placed Gaara, who has been sleeping,  
near the rabbits who were still wary of their presence. Kankuro, who was being too sensitive on the matter, felt guilty and gave the rabbits one of the onigiris he was saving for himself. Surprisingly, all four rabbit kittens ravaged the rice ball  
and they stopped being too cautious around the Sand Ninjas.  
Kankuro checked Gaara's temperature and was surprised by how warm his forehead was. He wrapped the latter with the cloak he had on in spite of feeling to cold himself. The blizzard was nearing since the little bunnies regrouped back to their nest.

 _It's going to be a long afternoon._

When the blizzard reached them, Kankuro concentrated his chakra to keep him warm. The rabbits, who noticed his warmth, all snuggled on top of his legs. He almost laughed at how those animals, who were about to kill him earlier, were using him as their  
furnace.

The blizzard ended abruptly. It almost caught the puppeteer by surprise. Gaara hasn't woken up yet. Using his extra scrolls, he created a link with Gaara's gourd and the rest of Sasori's puppets to make their travel smoother. Only his puppet, Sasori,  
was left in the real world.  
He didn't bother getting back his cloak from Gaara since his temperature started to get better after he was dressed warmer. To keep his spirits higher, the jounin thought that a Gaara burrito is not bad looking. Maybe, if he takes a photo of his brother  
and share it to his married sister, she'd visit them and give him a beating.  
Even though it has been a year since she got married to Shikamaru and migrated to the Leaf Village sometimes he'd still accidentally address her while he's half focused. After all, they've been each other's confidante for all their lives. In times like  
emergency meetings and the regular Five Kage Summit, she's a much better assistant to Gaara when it comes to political matters and diplomacy.

Kankuro arrived at the meeting place an hour later still carrying Gaara on his back. The samurai expecting them were surprised not only of their punctuality but also the ailing health of the Kazekage. Medical officers immediately escorted the duo to the  
nearest clinic. As suspected by the Sand Nin, they acould nrt find out what was causing the Kazekage's fever. They had to run additional tests on Gaara before determining its cause.

"Did the Kazekage sought medical health prior to this journey?" The young female doctor asked him. She had a stern and commanding voice which pissed him off. Doctors always think their patients are idiots, he thought.

"How would I know? He's a jinchuuriki, he doesn't pass out because of fever until today." He snarled.

"Is that so?" She seemed unfazed by the revelation. "You are?"

Before he could form the words, a nurse whispered that he is the elder brother of the Kazekage the leader of the Counter Terrorism Division of the Shinobi Alliance.

"Kankuro-dono do you need to tell us more about your brother's illness?" It sounded as if she knew some things that he know. People like that got under his nerves. Her manner of talking was too condescending. He would have said 'No, I don't need to tell  
you more about his illness. You could've said it in a more respectful manner. Maybe I would consider answering you properly.' if he was his usual, hotheaded, self. But the puppeteer was not in the mood to argue, although he noticed that the doctor  
was not somebody he'd get along with.

"It has been a week since he had that fever. He was functioning fine until earlier. Maybe it's the weather." He told the doctor and her entourage of nurses. "Maybe that would help you in your… testing."

"The weather?" The doctor was confused. She didn't follow his line of thought.

"We're from the Wind Country. Our Village is located in the middle of the desert." Kankuro said unenthusiastically.

"Thank you for that." She smiled at him. "Your brother's condition has stabilized but the fever has not gone away. He'll be awake soon. Once we find out something, we'll let you know immediately." The medical officers, then, left the room.

The jounin went to the bathroom, turned on the faucet and splashed warm water on his face. It relieved him from some the worries he's been having since the start of their arduous journey but it wasn't aesthetically appealing. Hisface paint ran all  
over his face. He took the soap and washed his face with it. So far, it hasn't been a good week for him or his brother. He reflected on his supposed plan of action after the meeting. Consistent with his calculations, they had arrived a day earlier.

Kankuro had anticipated that in case Gaara's condition takes a turn for the worse, he has some time to rest before the meeting. He was praying that it won't happen but it did. Beyond that, he had no contingencies. Although, he was grateful that they did  
arrive earlier or it might have cost his brother's safety. If Gaara does wake up as the doctor said, Kankuro pondered, then Gaara can attend the meeting. The trip back home though, would be the tougher challenge. They might have to stay much longer  
and let Gaara recuperate. But Kankuro had doubts with the doctors with Samurai upbringing. Medical ninjas would be a much better physican for his brother because his case was too peculiar.

While thinking of all these things, Kankuro didn't realize that he fell asleep. 

* * *

Hi! I'm R Cleaver.

I really like the characters in Naruto, especially their secondary characters. So, I thought, after about ten years of liking Temari, Shikamaru (ShikaTema forevaaa ya), Kankuro, Gaara, (yes, I'm slightly obsessed with the Sand Siblings… SLIGHTLY),  
Shino, and some super minor characters like Kurotsuchi, Shion (sadly, she's filler), Darui, and all those other cool ninjas who appeared in the Shinobi War, I am finally putting into words the visions that keep me awake at night.

Anyway, it doesn't speak much about why I wrote this fic. I've always wanted to write a Kankuro fic for as my first fic because I like him and he's unpopular. I have to admit that I really got into him during Shipuuden because of his devotion to support  
Gaara (weeps). Sadly, he didn't have much character focus in the epilogue (man, he ain't got no wifey… NOOO! What about those genes tho?!), so I thought I wanna make his own ending.

So here ya go. The story mainly revolves around KanKuro (Kankuro x Kurotsuchi love it! HAHA) and some other canon and non-canon pairings (super crack). I promise I will be (or am) doing my best to improve my consistency because I have this tendency  
to be overly diligent in writing narratives and storylines and suddenly become lazy right in the middle of the story, like doing a one liner description of an elaborate scene. I promise I won't do that because it would tick off any reader.

Before I post, I will proof-read (or proof scan) but please don't be too overly critical because I'm not perfect and I don't have any fanfic buddy/ies (yet). Most of my real life relationships (friends) are my nerdy (not like the genius type but the  
weird nerdy kind) classmates and colleagues who are unaware of the world of fanfiction..

That's all (for now). I hope you enjoy what I have written and best regards to everyone who has grazed this humble story of mine.

Thank you!

PS. R & R


	2. The Rotator Virus

**Chapter 2: The Rotator Virus**

Lord Onoki, his son and his granddaughter arrived in the Head Samurai's edifice on the day of the meeting's dawn. It was early by a Kage's standard since they usually arrive an hour early at most but the Tsuchikage wanted to speak to the Head Samurai first before the meeting itself because the epidemic the Land of Iron and the Land of Earth was currently facing might be related. He didn't know the details of what had happened in the Samurai territory but his guts were telling him that it was this epidemic was related and not by coincidence. What bothered him was the difference of their climate. If a virus was to hit both of their areas, it won't have the same potency due to their contrasting weather and land conditions. Kurotsuchi was the first one to observe this difference and she did a lot of convincing to prove her point.

The samurai on guard duty greeted the Iwa Ninjas. "Welcome to the Land of Iron, Lord Tsuchikage."

"Thank you." Onoki said. "Is the Head Samurai in? I need to speak with him directly before the meeting."

"Yes my lord." The head guard said. "We'll be escorting you at you rcommand."

"Should we wait for you at the meeting room?" Kitsuchi asked.

"Alright." The Tsuchikage answered. "But Kurotsuchi will come with me."

"Hey gramps, you're just talking to the Head Samurai _alone_. There's no need for me to do the explaining." She barked at her grandfather.

"Kurotsuchi! Talk to the Tsuchikage properly." Her father ordered her.

The old man sighed. He had wanted to get that attitude out of her fast. Kurotsuchi is their Village's best young ninja and was in the pool for the next Tsuchikage. Criticisms that surround her are related to her laid-back nature and tendency to talk out of turn which is not exactly a bad thing but it could get in the way. "Then do what you want but you'll the explaining during the meeting."

"Got it gramps." She said while mocking him. "By the way gramps, why are you so stiff today?"

"Get going father. I'll take care of this brat." Said Kitsuchi while shaking his head. He can't place where Kurotsuchi inherited her tactlessness and playfulness. Both he and his wife, Keiko, had neither of these characteristics. Compared to Keiko who was a refined, modest and demure kunoichi, Kurotsuchi was boyish, frisky and sharp-tongued. Only one person was similar to her in some way and that is her grandfather himself.

Kurotsuchi chuckled at her father's comment. It was he who requested to chaperone the Tsuchikage when he found out that she'll be speaking in the meeting. Her father, as she thought, had wanted to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't do something stupid like calling the Sixth Hokage sleepy or the Raikage funky. She was too old to be taught manners anyway. At age twenty-two, her father could do something better like stop inspecting her apartment at random to see if she's hiding a man inside her cupboards.

"So pops, should we wait at the meeting room? It's half a day too early for that anyway." She commented.

While his daughter was speaking, Kitsuchi asked for one samurai guard to usher them to the meeting room. They had a lot of material to present and what worried him was that Kitsuchi missed out some details in the presentation. "Do you have anything else to do, young lady?" He said while they were heading to the venue.

The kunoichi sighed. When her father was like this, the control freak daddy, she feels like she's the biggest idiot in the world. She hated that side of him but Kurotsuchi learned how to deal with it through the years. "Dad, I know what I will say later. I've been to these meetings more than you did."

"Your grandfather never let you spoke formally. You also didn't have the chance to be part of technical divisions in the Shinobi Alliance. I'm worried because it's not your cup of tea."

"Doesn't mean I'm an idiot. And I have my fair share of technical knowledge, dad." She has to weasel her way out or else she'll be too pissed at the meeting. "Even field-oriented divisions in the alliance need some form of intel. You know me, I always research before I act."

Kitsuchi didn't react anymore and the kunoichi felt she won.

When they entered the meeting a Samurai guard was stationed by its entrance. Guards don't _guard_ if the room was empty, unless somebody had arrived earlier than them.

"Samurai-san, who's in the meeting room?" Kurotsuchi fired at him.

"Iwa Ninjas?" The samurai guard muttered to himself. "Excuse me! Kankuro-dono had instructed me to wait for any of the first Kage to arrive. The Kazekage is currently in the infirmary. It seems that he might not be in a condition to attend today's meeting."

"That is all?" Kitsuchi said.

"No that's not it pops." Kurotsuchi snapped at him. "The Kazekage is a jinchuuriki. He should not get sick at all… not to mention, they passed through the Land of Earth."

 _SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!_

"I thought it was extracted from him." When the Akatsuki had captured and extracted Gaara's bijuu, it had been the talk of Iwagakure. Many of their local ninjas still hated any mention of the Sand Village even after the war. Although, relations are starting to get better especially when the current Tsuchikage had started being fond of the youngest Kage in history.

"You weren't informed then. After the war, the beast returned to the kid." Kurotsuchi said. "Samurai-san, please lead me to the infirmary. I will speak with Kankuro. Dad, please tell gramps about this. I think it's related to the epidemic. I'll explain the details later."

Kitsuchi simply nodded and asked some of the Samurai to lead him to where the Head Samurai's office was while Kurotsuchi hurried to the infirmary where the Sand Ninjas were. Without thinking, she attempted to bang on the door several times yet she only managed to hit it once because the man behind it immediately opened it.

He was pissed.

Kurotsuchi mentally cussed at her idiocy. _Who the hell would bang a door of a patient? I'm an idiot. It's good it wasn't Kankuro himself who opened the door or else he'll strangle me._

She grinned. "I was in a hurry. I need to speak to Kankuro. It concerns the Kazekage." The huge brunette had a smug look on his face. Maybe he was a newly assigned bodyguard to the Kazekage as replacement to his sister, Temari. Between the two, Kurotsuchi would much prefer speaking to the sister instead of the brother because she was much more courteous. She's the kind of no-nonsense girl who also happens to have a lot of personality — the type of friends Kurotsuchi want. But her startling marriage gave the Iwa Kunoichi no choice but to speak to the strange, murderous brother in that situation… and the situations to arrive.

"Enter." The huge brunette said to her.

Kurotsuchi was so used to be around Akatsuchi who was around 2 meters tall. She was unbothered by his size but she was somehow affected by his irritation. He didn't say or do anything but Kurotsuchi was sure that the banging had created a fire of animosity between them.

The infirmary was wide and plain. It had a coffee table and two seats at one corner, a television set, a small kitchen and a wide window overlooking the snowy visage. Bed was placed by the window where the Kazekage was sitting up and looking over the snow-covered plains. He was scratching his eyes fresh from sleep.

 _Shit._

Kurotsuchi cheekily peered around to look for the Kazekage's right hand man. She thought maybe he was out or doing an errand for his brother like buying for ice cream.

"Kankuro, who is it?" Gaara asked without moving his gaze.

"Kurotsuchi from the Hidden Stone."

 _The pissed off man answered Gaara even if he was asking for Kankuro?_

 _Shit._

 _Shit._

 _Shit._

 _Mega shit._

Kurotsuchi did her best to hide her 'shit happens' expression from the disguised man who happens to be the guy she had business with. She argued against her idea that the man is disguised; he had been wearing a disguise all this time and that the sultry brunette behind her was the man himself.

 _Fuck, I'd better watch my mouth this time or I would be asking for a death wish from the puppet guy._

"Greetings Lord Kazekage. I need to speak to Kankuro- _dono_ about your condition. I believe it is related to the reason behind this emergency meeting." She said immediately.

The other man who was posing to be Kankuro — as Kurotsuchi had put it — nodded to the chair by the side of the Kazekage. She declined the offer as the man headed to the window and leaned back against it.

"Sit." He commanded.

 _This fucker is turning too rude. Was he still mad about the attempted banging? It was just one bang. If there's somebody to be mad, it should be the Kazekage but he ain't giving a shit about it._

The girl took a light breath and sat on the chair like a good lady would. She flattened her skirt against her lap before she continued her narrative. "In the past month, various towns in the Land of Earth contracted a flu epidemic. Medical experts have considered it as a flu epidemic however there are additional symptoms experienced by those who have been sick for more than three days. Thus, after observing hundreds of patients, the doctors have found out that there were two stages of the flu. The first stage happens from Day Zero to Day Three while the second stage from Day Four onwards."

She looked at the Kazekage and observed his skin. It was much redder than his usual pale complexion. Although he seemed to suffer a normal fever, it wasn't something to be alarmed about except the fact that Jinchuurikis don't get weak in the knees when they're afflicted by common colds.

"Nothing special happens during Day Zero to Day Three. A person would feel feverish, experience cough, colds and other usual flu conditions. If the patient gets healed within this time, then he is saved and immune from the Rotator Virus – the name Medical Iwa Ninjas gave it. However, it does not stop him from becoming a carrier."

"By any slim chance, do you think Gaara has it?" The Sand Jounin asked.

"Yes. But I'm not quite sure how it affects Jinchuurikis." Kurotsuchi said. "So, I'd say there's a fifty percent chance. You passed through the Land of Earth, am I right?"

After hearing what he wanted to hear, Kankuro coldly said. "Yes. Continue."

This time his jabs didn't bother her at all because he had seen like this during summits and division meetings. He had a sharp tongue, that one, she thought. Compared to his sister who was straightforward but tactful he is reserved yet uncouth. The Kazekage though, was unlike his two loud siblings. The youngest son from the Kazekage clan was silent and almost philosophical when he speaks.

"The Second Stage is where things get complicated. People start experiencing vivid hallucinations. Combined with worsening flu symptoms and delusions, patients at the second stage suffer from mild to severe mental damages. Although in Iwagakure, we already have four deaths."

"Four in one month?" The Kazekage clarified.

"In numbers it's actually a bit low to be considered as an epidemic. These four deaths we had are the very first patients of the Rotator Virus. It is expected that in the next five days, we'll be dealing with at least a hundred deaths."

"It wasn't until two weeks ago that we had received word that the Land of Iron has been experiencing the same flu epidemic. And that is what bothered us, Iwagakure; how can a virus thrive in extreme land temperaments at almost the same time?"

That time, she got the attention of the pair.

"Are you saying that this is not a simple virus, Kurotsuchi?" The Kazekage inquired.

"When we started thinking along those lines, Medical Stone Ninjas saw traces of a foreign in all patients. It was very faint but it still points that ninjutsu or genjutsu is being used."

"How about during the first three days? Did the victims had chakra?"

"None until yesterday." Kurotsuchi loosened up. She thinks that she'll do a great job in the presentation since the arrogant brute in the form of Kankuro and the indifferent Kazekage are hooked to her revelations. Pulling it off before the other villages won't be tougher than those from Suna. "We have requested for Haruno Sakura's consultation. She had arrived in Iwagakure yesterday and she found out that there are traces of chakra _inside_ the virus itself."

"What made you think that Gaara is infected with this virus?" The puppet master interrupted. "He doesn't have any of the Stage Two symptoms."

"I'm not sure yet," Kurotsuchi sighed, "that's precisely the reason why I wanted to speak with you in the first place... since the Kazekage is in no condition to talk. Just let me hear what you know, Kankuro-san."

The brothers talked to each other before answering the Iwa kunoichi's request. She found it a bit amusing to see that she's one of the first few people to actually see the resemblance between the Kazekage and the Division-leader.

"Please talk to her." Gaara told the brunette. "I shall attempt to talk with Shukaku."

"Are you use you can do it now? When you tried earlier you passed out."

"It's because he passed out."Gaara told him softly. "Something's bugging him."

"You think it's the virus?"

"Yes." Gaara, looked at Kurotsuchi before returning his gaze towards his brother. "Please take care of the other matters on my behalf."

Only Kankuro can do silly things in unofficial meetings with a foreign delegate like placing the back of his hand against the Kazekage's forehead to check his temperature before saying "Got it". When he saw Kurotsuchi puffing her cheeks, he eyed the lava-user and slightly shrugged.

 _HE SHRUGGED?_

 _What the fuck is wrong with him?_

Whenever the Kazekage speaks politely to his brother, the kunoichi wants to snuggle him. She had seen him do it a two or three times in the three years she had known them. Usually he was like his siblings – strong-willed, candid and proud; but in a different way. It was like differentiating oranges and lemons even if they're both citrus fruits. Gaara was the orange, Temari and Kankuro are the lemons… except that the lemon version of Temari is juiced and mixed with honey. But this time, she had actually seen the mythical doting side of Kankuro that Temari had been ranting on whenever they meet.

 _Maybe he doesn't like anybody seeing that side of him because it's so unlike him._

"I'll be talking to Kurotsuchi." He walked off and gestured for Kurotsuchi to go ahead. 

* * *

I know its a lame name for a "virus" but it has some plot significance. Please read on and review! xoxo


	3. A Game of Smirks

**Chapter 3: A Game of Smirks**

"Where should we discuss?" The Sand Jounin said as he closed the door.

Kurotsuchi looked over the towering man. He was at least half a foot taller than her but now, he looks like a big kitten to her. She accidentally smirked for a bit but did her best to mark it by answering. "We can head to the meeting room."

"Did you just smirk?" He murmured, although still audible enough.

"Can't hide it, can I?" Kurotsuchi said. "Sorry, I can't help it since a lot of shocking _disclosures_ were witnessed in the infirmary. "

"Caught us at a bad time." He thought she was talking of how Gaara, a Jinchuuriki, could get sick.

"Since you're less pissed now, I think I can stop myself from smirking in front of you, the only audience, because I'm terrible at hiding my feelings."

"I'm _not_ pissed."

"You were."

"You woke _me_ up."

"Oh. I thought you were pissed because my banging – or bang, loud bang, whatever – woke up the Kazekage."

"No, he was forcing himself to nap but I was the one doing some actual sleeping that time."

"That explains the…" Kurotsuchi looked at Kankuro's eye-catchy look and giggled. He wasn't bad-looking. If she would be most accurate, he could be considered as striking by most standards.

"What?!" He muffled his voice to avoid the samurais from noticing their petty argument.

"Face." The Iwa Jounin smirked.

Kankuro breathed deeply. He had realized that the girl was more bothered by his bare face rather than Gaara's ailment. "Hideous, right?"

She shook her head "No. If I can be frank, you're fine. I just saw proof that the three of you are legitimate siblings with the same set of parents." Another smirk.

He bit his tongue from saying bitch. "We _are legitimate_ siblings with the same set of parents."

"You and Temari-neechan have nothing in common except that brownish tint in both your hairs. Temari's blonde is the sandy type, which is usually caused by brown undertones."

"Well, Temari and I don't really look alike. Temari is the carbon copy of our mother while I pretty much took after the Fourth."

 _He's calling their father the Fourth? Oh yeah… Their father is the Fourth Kazekage._

"You act the same. The smirk is too similar. Your youngest sibling doesn't have that cocky-looking grins."

Both of them smirked at almost the same time.

"The big question, I've always believed that Gaara neither looks like you nor Temari-nechan until today. Who would've known that the Fifth Kazekage's brother would not be a deformed brute. I've noticed that Gaara's eyes is a lighter shade of Temari's but his features are too distant from hers. Until earlier, I didn't notice the similarity in your bone structure." She thought, _I think your bone structure is better than the pretty redhead,_ but she didn't say it out loud or else he would punch her ruthlessly.

"So _that was amusing_ you. I thought you were actually attracted to Gaara. Here I was thinking maybe I should set him up with you while convincing some of the elders to find some foreign kunoichi marry our Kazekage. I can't imagine you marrying him though… so forget that I mentioned anything about it." All the while the puppeteer was rolling his eyes and tittering.

"Gaara shouldn't have any problems in finding a girlfriend."

"He's withdrawn. A bit cluele – actually, too clueless about romantic things. Arranged marriages would be much better for him. Besides, I have a say on which girl they'll be forcing him to bed. Arranging for blind date would be tough especially with his schedule. Temari have tried before but it ended too… clumsy."

Kurotsuchi giggled again. "Well, it's a requisite for a Kage to have heirs so he'll get married one way or another. My concern as a kind kunoichi is how you would fare well in the future. Elders would care less about the brother with less authority. A word of advice from your lady friend: hold back on the makeup and you'll be married in no time."

He twitched with her remarks on his face paint and marriage. If there was anything he hated, it's anything relating to these sensitive matters concerning his life. "Its face paint… and lady, for your information, I've scrapped future plans of getting married so there's no point in turning myself to a peacock."

The jounins arrived at the meeting room. They resumed their discussion on the Rotator Virus. Kurotsuchi found out that the brother had traveled through the Land of Earth although far from the infected areas. She also asserted to him about the possibility of the viral outbreak to be a terrorist ploy (which is related to the division Kankuro is leading). The Sand Ninja was convinced with her reasoning but he pointed out that the Hidden Stone Village lacks substantial evidence to declare it as a terrorist attack on the Land of Earth and Iron.

After arriving with an agreement to wait for Gaara's say on the matter before deciding any further, Kankuro took his leave. The kunoichi wanted to speak more with the distant foreign ninja with things that perked her interest.

 _He said he has scrapped future plans of getting married... I remember that gramps told me that the Sand Village wanted to marry off Gaara or Kankuro so that the Kazekage Clan would have heirs that are born and raised in the Sand Village. The Kazekage killed off the girl because of attempted defection. It's been a year since then but how come neither of them are having engagement talks._

 _Why would he shrug off the idea when both of them are being ordered to take up wives?_

 _Unless something happened._

 _Kekekeke._

Things like that itched her.

She has to hear the kitten's soppy love story or it will affect her sanity.

Kurotsuchi's presentation was highly commended by her grandfather and her father (unwillingly). That was the least of her concerns though, she was looking forward to the decision that the Five Kage and the Samurai would arrive at. Explaining Iwagakure's experience and their conclusion that it could be orchestrated by a terrorist group using medical ninjutsu as their weapon, the Iwa kunoichi asserted that they should act immediately. Kankuro, then, was asked to file his request for shinobi before they leave the Land of Iron so that they would be deployed as early as the following day, but he raised the issue that it was not the usual terrorism case and more planning would be needed on their part which entails deeper information. The Raikage agreed with them and granted Kankuro's request to draft shinobi who are not included in the division he was leading.

Mifune supported the Stone Village's findings and had identified a possible event that had triggered the viral spread. Both the Land of Iron and the Land of Earth are experiencing the Northeast monsoon where the wind currents moves from the Land of Snow to the Continent.

The Sixth Hokage, Hatake Kakashi, suggested that after the meeting, a team would observe the wind quality. The Tsuchikage and Mizukage have agreed with his proposal. A team was organized composed of Kurotsuchi, Chojuro, Shikamaru, Atsui, Kankuro and Akane, a samurai. Kurotsuchi wanted to take out the Sand Nin from the team because he's expected to lead a long-run mission on hunting down the instigator of the virus but the Kazekage (who was too silent during the meeting's duration) insisted on having his brother join the team. If any suspicious movement is observed in the atmosphere of the Land of Snow, the Counter-Terrorism unit would be deployed in four days.

The meeting would resume after the investigation team would return. Kurotsuchi saw some discomfort with the real Kankuro (the one with the face paint on) while the Kages were heading out. _Perhaps, he was still worried about leaving his brother unwell._ She called the team to investigation team.

She clapped once. "Chojuro-san, Shikamaru-san, Atsui-san, Kankuro- _dono_ , Akane-san!" She saw her father sighing in disappointment with what she did. Her display of poor manners after that strong presentation might turn people off but knowing the team, they won't. She was already familiar with most of them except Atsui and Akane. Atsui is the brother one of the most popular women during the Shinobi War, Samui. Her light blonde hair, sharp, cool blue eyes, pale skin, and curvaceous figure infatuated many war survivors. Knowing who Samui would date became the favorite gossip material among the kunoichis because she was cold and too cool (which is her name's meaning) for most shinobi who were interested in her. But whenever she was asked about her many suitors, she seems indifferent by the attention she keeps on receiving. Atsui, on the other hand, didn't have much attention like his sister maybe because unlike her coolness, he was hot-headed and energetic. Tragically for Atsui, most girls including Kurotsuchi stay away from fiery and intense men. She suddenly remembered the heartbreaker Samui not only because of the presence of her brother but her interest was triggered when Akane removed her helmet. The female samurai had the same coloring with Samui; pale, blonde and blue-eyed. Although she was less sexy than the Kumo Kunoichi, Akane was a looker too. Her platinum blonde hair, bright blue eyes and ashen skin almost made her look like an ice princess. Kurotsuchi didn't know what caused her to recall somebody who was not there in spite of very poor associations. When the team grouped, she recovered her senses.

"Our little mission won't take very long. I think checking if some traces of chakra are in the wind would take an hour or two. Don't you think so too?"

She looked around the unresponsive faces to force them to answer but the Leaf Ninja was yawning, the Kiri Ninja was too busy fixing his stuff, the Suna Ninja was not mentally present and the Kumo Ninja was frowning. _Looks like I'll have to go bitch mode again this time._

"Fine. Shikamaru-san and Akane-san will study the route we will be taking. Also, both of you guys will be accountable if meet any random enemies along the way."

"Kurotsuchi-san, are you joking about the second part?" Shikamaru said lethargically. "That's almost impossible unless none of these unidentified terrorists are currently in the Land of Iron."

"That's why you should prepare our strategy. I don't want to go out in this freezing weather that's why I wanna finish this the quickest way possible." She accidentally smirk. Akatsuchi once told her that whenever she smirks, people stop taking her seriously. Her smirk means nothing for most of the time. For the Iwa Kunoichi, it was just like a verbal tic. But this time, she's serious.

"Chojuro-san, get the most infected area in the Land of Iron and feed it to Shikamaru-san and Akane-san. Atsui, get communication tools and coordinate with any of the ninja here as the receiving end."

"But Kurotsuchi-san…" Chojuro was still a bit shy around some of the girls during meetings and this irked Kurotsuchi immediately.

She commanded. "Blurt it."

"What if this area is a bit far, then won't we need to stack on supplies?"

He did have a point. She was a bit tactless earlier. "Then make it nearer or find a near affected area. Once you have the data, you'll help out Shikamaru and Akane too because your tasks are related. But if it's too far then we'll raise it later. Any more questions?" The spunky girl cocked her eyebrows as she looked at Atsui who shook his head and waved his arms.

"What am I supposed to do?" Finally, she heard the man she wanted to react since she started bitching. She became demanding because he seemed detached.

"I thought you weren't here, Kankuro-dono!" She laughed. "Truth is, I didn't want you here but the Kazekage insisted and I can't really disagree. Tag along with me. I'll have you help me out in some errands." He didn't react like he did when he didn't have paint on his face. She was unsatisfied with his sudden indifference. "In thirty minutes, let's meet at the entrance and leave immediately. Our target is to finish the mission in an hour A-S-A-P. Adjourned."

Akane left immediately along with a hesitant Chojuro and an impatient Atsui. Kankuro and Shikamaru exchange a few words before Shikamaru went on ahead.

The kunoichi wanted to drive him to the corner again. She didn't want to lose the game she's having with the Sand Jounin. She wanted to see who gets to piss of the other more as they smirk more often. So far she's leading the game but she's starting to lose her foothold when she didn't get a reaction from him earlier. "What were you talking about?"

The puppeteer didn't catch her question "Hmm?"

"With Nara-san?"

"He's my _brother-in-law._ Of course I would talk to him."

"I'm your head in this mission. Now, speak."

HE smirked. _Yes! He's back!_ "That's… None… Of… Your… Business." Kankuro sneered at her. This time she believed got pissed off by his sudden change in attitude… but at the back of her mind where her inner voice resides, Kurotsuchi got pissed because of the hard fact that Kankuro's personal dealings were none of her business.

"I want to make it my business." She smirked.

"Oh…"He raised his eyebrows. "The last time I checked, we're civil acquaintances."

"Civil _friends."_ She corrected him.

"Sorry kid, but I never saw you as a friend." This time, Kankuro smirked looked too arrogant and caused the Iwa girl to scowl and puff.

"According to my stock knowledge, we're roughly the same age." She twitched. "So… what was it about?"

"Geez… What am I supposed to do _with you_?" He asked her while grinning like a prankster with a naughty plan being cooked.

"You'll come with me and talk to Mifune, _Koneko-chan_."

"Ko…ne…ko… _chan?"_ His faced tensed up and his fists clenched. He didn't see it coming.

 _Comeback's a bitch!_

"Should we go to the Head Samurai, Koneko-chan?" She sung Kankuro's pet name as she approached him.

He leaned forward and whispered her. "Just so you know, you're _not my type._ If you have that kind of intention, I suggest dropping it." He straightened his posture and pointed at the door. "After you."

The kunoichi blinked at him…many times.

 _Did he say that because he thinks that I like him? Why did he have to react like that? Was it because of the pet name? Damn bastard is too arrogant to think that I actually like him! I only fucking complimented him a bit and he's ego going up the heavens! Fucking asshole! BAH! RAWARJGDSWKG!_

 _THE BIGGEST QUESTION THAT NOBODY FUCKING ASKED IS: DO I FUCKING EVEN LIKE HIM?!_

 _HELL FUCKING NO!_

"You're one conceited bastard aren't you?" She whispered before heading out of the meeting room.

The atmosphere between them was tense although they did not stop bickering. Kurotsuchi would never back down in a verbal argument much more to somebody who had sparked a fuse in her.

"Hey, Koneko, I think the mission would take a long time to end. When we get back later, you better start talking to the Kazekage that we'll be using you for at least a month."

"You're underestimating me and the rest of our Division. If we find leads, it's easier to find the targets. Ah," he paused, "are you scheming on letting me stay longer in the Land of Earth? I would refuse your offer though."

"It's not that I'm underestimating you, koneko-chyaaan." When Kankuro head the baby talk, he froze in disgust. Kurotsuchi also froze… in irritation.

"Kuro-chan, as much as you want oniichan here to be a call away, I won't and I certainly can't." He smiled.

"I was saying it to you so that the Kazekage won't miss his _oniichan_ when he's deployed out of the country for work. Besides, no foreign kunoichi is crazy enough to beg you to stay in their home country when there is already an oversupply of handsome, local men."

"Are you talking of Akatsuchi?" He mocked her.

"No! Deidera, neko-chan, Deidera is the best example." She can drop her old flame's name easily but she's certain it will keep her awake later. When she found out that he died, she always blamed herself for not giving him a proper reason to stay in the Stone Village. It still pains her that he's gone and she's almost forgetting him.

"If Deidera is handsome, then Sasori is a certified idol."

"Is this a contest of naming somebody more attractive?"

"You started it."

"I was laying down proof. After all, you only see my grandfather, father and cousin."

"Who happens to be the 'face' of your village? It speaks a lot of the kind of men living in it." Kankuro laughed when he saw Kurotsuchi winced.

"I know, I know. The men in my family are not good-looking. After all, the Tsuchikage should be strong and intelligent. Having pretty faces is not a must unlike…" She sniggered.

"Oi! Gaara is more than qualified to be a Kage. It just so happened that he is a lady-killer. A well-rounded leader best represents his village."

"Geez, you Sand Ninja are nothing special compared to those from the Leaf and Cloud." She commented as a diversion. He was on the winning end. It's true that most Iwa Ninjas are… _mediocre in appearance._

"In terms of looks? I say I'd like to argue on that one. In terms of strength. Yeah, Suna has the weakest military arsenal due to our small size and, you know, a bit of our history had its toll. But in terms of appearances, we're quite handsome compared to Iwa-nin."

"But not the most handsome among the Five Great Villages."

"That wasn't our discussion to begin with." Kankuro smirked. "I was surprised by how shocked you were when you saw my bare face. People find it ugly that's why I paint it."

"You're ugly in Suna standards?" The kunoichi made it sound cheeky to keep his ego from bursting. She found him quite attractive without the crazy get-up. Most ladies she knows would think he's handsome, some of them might even crush on him. She cannot understand why the Puppet Master thinks he's physically unpleasant when factually, he's not.

"I'm ugly by my standards, Kuro-chan." He said flatly.


	4. Cold

**Chapter 4: Cold**

After meeting with Mifune who had given him the technical data about the Land of Iron's status. Kurotsuchi wasn't please with it because the virus is spreading at an exponential rate. She suddenly stopped being her usual gauche self and dismissed him.

He was a bit upset when he saw Atsui as the Raikage's bodyguard. It was usually Darui and C with but this time, Darui was absent. Those personalities, Atsui and Darui caused his heart to beat painfully. He returned to the infirmary and saw Gaara sleeping soundly. All sorts of cloth other than the bed sheets were wrapped around him. The cold was the one causing him to weaken, Kankuro thought. He still had time to waste before he should head out. Since he was feeling too icy since the meeting, taking a warm shower would help him deal with the upcoming ordeal. A snowy environment always reminds him of the cold one who had frozen him in time.

Kankuro formally met the Ice Queen in the aftermath of the Shinobi War. The Suna Council had appointed him and some eight Suna Ninjas to assist Kumogakure with recovery from the damages sustained in the war (since most of the war was concentrated in the Lightning Country). He was assigned to help out in the area she was supervising together with several shinobi affiliated in the union. Many men were charmed by her. He had to admit, he was charmed too.

She never spoke to him more than what was necessary, after all, she was a highly respected jounin in Kumogakure. Any adversity that may face her did never influenced her calm and logical demeanor. Kankuro, by that time, wondered if she made mistakes in her life. Everything she did was highly controlled and measured, unlike he who had messed up whenever his emotions or the situation gets into his head. His siblings value this trait of his because it what makes him a good leader but Kankuro wanted to lessen his emotional outbursts and clear his head a bit in life-and-death missions.

During his second week, he called Gaara for an update and informed his brother that his stay would only extend until the end of that week. Recovery assistance was not his suite, there were barely any enemies for his to keep a lookout for. The only thing that was keeping him from leaving the Land of Lightning was _the woman_. Her blank expression haunted him whenever he closed his eyes… her voice lingered in his head whenever she mutters something. It was too much for him, he thought, he has to leave Kumo soon or else he'll lose his rationality. His focus was not at its best. As a matter of fact, he was too distracted by the presence of the lady jounin and its driving him mad that there's almost zero chances for him to approach her.

In the same evening, Kankuro went out to have some booze in his system. He never asked time off whenever he is in Sunagakure because he was mostly occupied by essential matters. Unwinding was usually limited to a night or a whole day. Anything greater than that was almost unimaginable in his work life since he was always in demand in Sunagakure. But menial jobs had kept him "busy" for the two weeks he was in Kumogakure which was not enough for him to stray away at stealing glances from certain woman. It's been a while since he was intensely attracted to somebody. The first and only time he became infatuated was when he was in the Academy. Sadly, the girl died in a mission even before she could become a chuunin. His last girlfriend was a few months ago and lasted for about two weeks (his current average). He wasn't even attracted to that girl. Most of the time, it was a one-way relationship where the girl runs after him. Work drains his interest in affairs since he never invested much in these things. His involvement with women are usually driven by uncontrollable cravings of the flesh and once it is satisfied, he would lose interest in the long-term commitment. Neither of his siblings knew of his serial dating tendencies but Temari had warned him about being "the type who does it when he needs it".

Part of relaxing as a shinobi is to wear normal clothes. Most of his casual clothing consisted of almost the same dark color scheme. He wore a plain, slim-fit, long-sleeved, charcoal gray shirt, designer jeans and black leather shoes. If there was something different found in his closet, it was Temari's doing. Even if she was married, she'd check on how her brothers were faring especially in aspects of their lives she used to take charge of which includes their casual clothes, their daily food, furniture, bills and the list goes on.

 _If Temari sees me like this, she'll pull my ears._

Walking around town first before stopping by a bar was routine. A few girls had tried to hit on him but he refused them. Having a woman that night would only make him feel worse by his inadequacy and lack of opportunity to approach that woman. When the sun had completely set, he returned to a bar with a seemingly dark ambience. 'The Rumor' exceeded his expectations; dark walls, peculiar decorations and played non-mainstream jazz. Not many people occupied the expansive club… which suited his tastes perfectly.

The Sand Shinobi sat by the bar and ordered for a margarita with lemon juice instead of lime. He drank it straight and felt the sensation reaching his head. He ordered another glass and peered on the television. It was a period movie which bored him.

"Can I also have a bottle of whiskey?" He requested. After a bottle, he thought, he'll be heading back and start cleaning up.

A ninja would normally feel somebody approaching you several meters away. That was what he was felt but he pretended to be oblivious to it. Normal people would freak out if they find out you're a shinobi. And he's dying to a bit of entertainment. Small talk would do the trick for him that time. He wasn't upset though; it was a familiar aura who had sat beside him. The very person who has driven him down to The Rumor and shamelessly drink in the middle of the week.

"You almost disappointed me when you ordered a margarita but… the whiskey saved you. I've misjudged you. I thought you were somebody who is used to hard liquor." Seemingly, uninterested, the Puppet Master smirked at his female colleague of interest. "Can I join?"

"You're very welcome to. Are you having something?"

"I always go for the classic sake." Samui said in monotone. She wore a light green, drape-style dress which was too generous for her admirers. "It's boring to drink alone."

"It is… that's why I am grateful that you approached me."

"Entertainment is all-around you, mister; I can't believe you didn't notice it. As a form of greeting and tip from your local colleague, most of the girls in here are getting ready to hunt you. Unless that's your motive, I would leave you alone and tell the curious ones you that turned me down."

Kankuro's eyes widened. He never got used to the attention he keeps on having whenever he's wearing normal clothes. Sometimes, he gets too full of it himself that he takes advantage of the many interested ladies. But now was not the time for that. "I'm not here for _that_ , Samui." He clarified but he did not elaborate. It was too early for him to reveal more, besides, her body language suggests she's getting ready to leave. But it was first; Samui spoke to him… he won't let that window close. "A bottle of sake, please" He ordered.

"Kankuro, I was about to leave." The Ice Queen looked at him blankly. She never showed her emotions which is the very thing that bothered Kankuro.

"If you're worried about unwanted suitors, I'll ward them off. I also need you to stop those girls from selling themselves to me. It goes both ways." He didn't realize that he had finished one bottle of whiskey since Samui has arrived. "Those pests get in my nerves."

"But you seem like the kind who would hook up with them."

"I don't _buy_ cheap things." He tried composing himself since she was starting to mock him. Samui, obviously had a dark side to her, he just didn't know what kind. In that conversation, he found out that she was naughty girl who feeds on intimidated men. "I only acquiesce if they're willing to do _anything_ for me."

She smiled a bit and it was the perfect expression on her. Kankuro wanted to take a photo of that instance but she returned to her neutral, flat expression. From the side, her features were strong and angular which was highlighted since she wore her hair in a high bun showing the beautiful shape of her cheekbones, nose, jawline and forehead. The dark eyes of the Puppet Master became glued to the Ice Queen's blonde eyelashes when he noticed that they were thick and full under such lighting. "You talk big for a kid."

"I'm not as young as I look." He snapped at her. "You aren't that old yourself."

"That's what you think." She rested her head against her left arm and faced Kankuro. He had noticed that her cheeks are flushed from the alcohol. "I looked into your profile and found out that you're still young."

"What's wrong with being twenty?"

"What's wrong?" She ridiculed him. "It's a young age."

"I'm legal."

Samui poured a cup of sake and had a sip. "It's another inconvenient truth."

Kankuro closed his eyes and lightly shook his head. "I'm not getting you this time, Samui. What's your point?"

Before he could face her, she reached for his left cheek and kissed him. His eyes were closed by that time as if he saw it coming. He stood up from his seat, wrapping one arm by her waist. He pulled away after a few seconds and stroked her left cheek with the back of his hand.

His body's reaction was a few seconds late; it was only then when he felt his heart racing, as if catching up to the episode that had occurred. "Is this your _point?_ "

She smiled and kissed the corner of his mouth before whispering, "You have a lot of _explaining_ to do."

Kankuro smiled but unleashed himself from her grip. He was sure that Samui had expressed that she is interested with him at a different level compared to other men. But she acts so unlike her personality. Perhaps, it was the alcohol influencing her to be more forward.

"Don't you like me, Kankuro?"

"You're one impatient lady aren't you?"

She laughed. "I thought you were less cryptic."

Kankuro leaned against the bar facing the drunk Ice Queen. "You're drunk. I'll get you home."

"I'm just a bit flushed and drunk but I'm not disoriented." She said in her usual tone. "You can bring me home on one condition…" She tugged some of her loose hair behind her left ear. It was a suggestive gesture and she was giving it to Kankuro. He liked how things were going but it was not something he would risk. He likes Samui too much for a one night stand. There's no way he would tarnish their encounter with something so carnal.

"I don't know if you're either toying with me or not. Either way, I won't sleep with you." He declared. "I do things my way. Don't go around commanding me, woman."

The blonde Cloud Kunoichi stood up and wrapped both of her arms on the Sand Nin's right arm. "You said something about taking me home since I'm drunk."

Kankuro started walking and she followed. He had asked her where she lived and she simply pointed him the directions. He had seen a few local and foreign shinobis who had recognized Samui. She didn't care by their explicit staring on her but Kankuro glared back at them to scare them away. Attention was something that he hated especially with very attractive women like Samui. If word about her date spreads like wildfire, he would be pressured to settle things with her fast. The problem though, he wasn't sure if what he was feeling is something that involves his emotions.

By the time they had arrived on her apartment's doorstep, Kankuro kissed her but refused her attempts to take things further, leaving the woman frustrated and distraught. She stopped roaming her hands on various parts of his abdomen. How much her annoyance shows made him chuckle.

Before it turns sour, he had to say something to her to make her feel wanted. "It troubles me how much the age thing concerns you." Kankuro said as he held her in place. She was taller than most women. He was almost six feet tall but she was not dwarfed by him in comparison. If he had an ideal girl, Samui would be the best example for it.

"Because it is something that would spark interest from others." The Ice Queen rested her head on shoulder. "I'm turning twenty-six soon."

It was something that didn't bug him at all. It was obvious that she was no teenager. The [almost] six year age difference wouldn't matter to him until much later. During that moment and point of his life, Kankuro didn't care about her reveries. "Who cares?"

"It would matter to your family, your council and my family."

"Don't worry about it. My family doesn't really care about those details. I can deal with our village's council." He wanted to say 'You're thinking too far ahead, Samui', but she'd be forever closing her doors from him if he does. "It's getting late. Before we end the night, we need to clear things."

"Like what?"

"Was this an attempt for a one night fling?" He asked her. "Because I do not intend this to end just tonight or anytime soon."

She started blushing. "Kankuro…"

"Whatever."

Before leaving his confirmed lover, Kankuro gave her a goodbye kiss which turned quite deep. Kankuro pulled back while suppressing a laugh but when he saw her neutral face, he stopped the smirk forming on his face.

"See you tomorrow." She said while smiling a bit on the corners of her mouth and her eyes squinting a little.

"Sorry darling…." Her eyebrows furrowed. "I get to decide that."

He remembered how long the evening was. Gaara was puzzled why, in a span of two hours, his older brother changed his mind about the date of his departure. The middle sand sibling continued quitting from the boring reconstruction assistance project but he needed a reason to stay. The jounin thought of asking permission from the Kazekage to enlist in missions located in the Land of Lightning from the Union. The youngest Sand Sibling was pressed to agree but on the condition that Kankuro should return to Suna in the next two weeks.

If the Hidden Cloud Village was not leagues away from the Sand Village, it won't be much of an ordeal but it was at least, a week away from his home. He regretted making his move much later and even forced her to approach him in such manner. Kankuro didn't have any reason to stay in the Lightning Country… giving him only an excess of one week to seal things with the beautiful Ice Queen.

The next morning, Samui was still tensed by his presence. Whenever they lock eyes, she'll look away immediately and do something. It wasn't until lunch when Kankuro approached her for work-related discussion with some personal items on the side.

"Samui-san, were you informed about my schedule this week?"

"I haven't heard anything of it."

"Sunagakure would send another jouniin as my replacement. By Friday, a team would arrive and I'll turnover my work to them until Saturday."

She blinked at him, as if saying 'you fucking whore!' "Shame. You're a good manager yourself. It makes my work easier." Samui sighed.

"I have favor to ask, though, Samui-san."

Her eyes widened. "Which is?"

"Can you accompany me to either Darui or C? Gaara buzzed me _last night_ about a mission recently given to me from the Union in the Lightning Country."

"I see. How about after lunch? It seems that you're done with your tasks for today."Samui's mouth moved upward. Almost unnoticeable by the working ninjas but obvious to the Sand Nin.

Kankuro had wanted to agree with her proposal to skip work but he didn't want to agree to her _yet._ "No, it won't leave a good impression that you're slacking off. Inform one of the jounins present that we'll leave at 12 noon to visit the Raikage's Office and return early in the afternoon." He had to show her who wore the pants or else she'll take command. Samui was a strong-willed woman, almost similar to Temari to some degree but much more reticent. She's' not hard to read but she barely shows anything to be analyzed but once you understand her micro-expressions, it's very easy to understand her. He likened her to a coded open book.

"How about lunch?"

"I was thinking of having an early dinner but if you want to have lunch, you can leave me at the Raikage Edifice and carry on."

"I'll be skipping lunch then." She said softly.

That was the time when Kankuro had triumphed as the dominant force in what was the beginning of their relationship. Whenever she suggested something for involving both of them, Kankuro would disagree not for fun but because he's like to do things in a different way. Samui was calm but in dating, she's impulsive and careless which didn't sit well with her lover. He wanted a relationship bound by rules so they would know their limitations. Samui did agree to the rules they've set but in most cases, she'd forget "these things" and cause complications with the stern Puppet Nin. He had a quite a temper and Samui hated strong displays of wrath… and that caused most of the strains on their arrangement.

More than a year has passed since their rocky separation. During those painful fifteen months, the Puppet Nin didn't love her any less. Samui had occupied a part of his life that will never change. In spite of all the wrongs she has done, Kankuro cannot force himself to hate her even though it was the most logical choice. There were attempts when he almost had left Suna on vacation to woo the Ice Queen for the second time, but logic would prevent him from doing so. He also tried to leave it to fate that if they meet again by coincidence, it means that it's his second chance to prove himself to her but such occasion never happened… until now, when Atsui, her brother, showed up in the emergency meeting. Her brother's accidental appearance in the Land of Iron might be his gateway to bring her back.

When he got out of the shower, Gaara was reading some of the materials from the meeting.

"Are you feeling better or are you pretending to?" The older brother said while dressing up.

"The former." Gaara said. "Shukaku told me that a foreign chakra had invaded my body. He has been fighting nonstop for the past week until this morning. Apparently, he won."

" _He_ had a hard time defeating that thing?"

The Kazekage nodded. "Shukaku said it was a unique chakra signature that regenerates on its own. The virus was not tough to beat but its restoration ability was topnotch. Kankuro, it seems that we're up against somebody or something unprecedented. Be careful."

"Don't worry, I'm there to assess the situation. If it's bigger than our division, I'll pull back. You know me, I'm not an idiot who charges towards death." Kankuro said,

"You used to be like that until Samui." Gaara said as if he was counting apples. Whenever he speaks, it's as if he's a cross between an innocent child and a philosophical sage. "When you stopped meeting her, you became too risky. Sometimes, I force myself to refuse S-Class missions requesting for you because I know you won't turn it down."

"I know my limits, bro."

"Before, you only take twelve S-class missions in a year but in the past two years, you have accomplished 48. What do you call that kind of behavior if not perilous?"

"Gaara, I know what I'm doing…" Kankuro said.

"Your life is much too valuable to be wasted away." Gaara told him. "As the Kazekage, you are my most trusted subordinate, but more so, you are my one and only, irreplaceable brother. It is unfair that a person like you is despairing because of one person."

"I'll think of a way to move forward." Kankuro smiled at him. "I was thinking of having a vacation in the Lightning Country after this campaign. Whatever the consequences are, I'll be glad to accept it and continue my life at that point." He lied. He knew that if Samui refused him, he'll torment himself over it. The breakup incident is still ringing inside his head and cost him too many sleepless nights. Anyone who would watch Kankuro 24/7 would know that the guy is already clinically depressed because of a broken heart.

"How long would that take? A month? Or Two?"

"Depends."

"You can take as long as a year. I'll cover for you." His brother smiled at him; the first time he smiled since he had that foolish virus in him.

* * *

Thanks for reading!

Plot is still a bit slow on this part, but I swear it'll speed up soon. I tweaked Samui's age a bit to fit the storyline a bit more. She's about 26 in Kankuro's flashback. So, following the current timeframe, Samui's just around 29 or 30.


	5. Fire

**Chapter 5: Fire**

The area Shikamaru had mapped was thirty minutes away from their base. Upon arrival, it didn't take very long for them to identify the traces of chakra in the wind. Mifune's hypothesis was confirmed immediately. At least, for the Land of Iron, the Samurai can begin evacuating their citizens to undamaged areas as soon as they return. Kurotsuchi, though, was agitated with the confirmation. _The virus was spread through an uncontrollable medium. We have to deploy a scouting team in the Land of Snow immediately._

Shikamaru and Atsui roughly sketched the wind pattern since they were the ones Kurotsuchi commanded at whim. The shadow wielder was a logical choice but Atsui, a kenjutsu user, was not well-suited for observation. But she didn't have the right men to do the job. She should have asked for Ao instead of Chojuro earlier, she thought. Her father would give her an earful later due to her mishap.

Kankuro, Chojuro and Akane went to the next town to see if chakra presence was much stronger.

"Shikamaru-san? Is there anything I could help with?" Their unnamed leader said.

"No. I think you should conserve your energy for later." The Leaf genius was starting to be drained of chakra, in spite of his intellect and keen strategic skills, he had poor chakra reserves which restraints him from doing too well in individual battles. It could be a bluff on his part due to his inbred laziness.

She started to feel chilly when she stopped moving. The dry and cold air was "What for?"

"You'll be returning here soon with a functioning team." Shikamaru said. "None of the guys you brought here are doing their jobs properly. After you present these crappy readings, they'll deploy another team with you to do exactly what we're doing."

"That won't happen." She cackled sarcastically.

While the rest of the team had been busy researching, Kurotsuchi was already outlining the best sounding recommendations for their mission's report. What Shikamaru told her just now was true, but there is also a chance that it would be someone else piloting the research mission. A sensor type is best suited yet almost always, they're a rarity even in the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Somebody who's used to melee fighting ( _the awesome Kurotsuchi_ ), desk jobs ( _the Nara_ ), shivering ( _the fish_ ), playing with dolls ( _the handsome devil)_ , being unknown ( _the Atsui guy_ ) and swordplay (the Samurai Akane) would surely be reconsidered with zero probability. If the rough sketch would assist the Kage to make their decision, the Counter-Terrorism division would make its move immediately. The division is known to operate stealthily. Quick fights were a staple; when a skirmish drags on, they finish it through coordination and teamwork. Under Kankuro's tutelage, the division became one of the Union's strongest prevention tools on rogue shinobis but Kurotsuchi was not convinced if they are the best men for this mission.

Even Kankuro himself was vacillating about being sent to the Land of Snow. She recalled him requesting for liberty in choosing which ninjas to include the team. He was a fine commander but his technique had a lot of shortcomings. A strong taijutsu master would east catch him off mark and disable him in no time. The thought of being worried about the Sand Jounin send shivers down her spine which she shook away by forcing herself to simulate how her father would react if he found out that this little mission of theirs had a lot of overlooked details.

A red flare was fired from about five kilometers.

It was too fast in her discernment. She felt something was off. "Shikamaru-san, is it possible for them to reach that far in a bit of time?"

"You have Akane who is familiar with this terrain so that would considerably cut down their trip from this point to point B. Chojuro and Kankuro are skilled and highly responsible ninjas themselves. You must also consider that you have been pressing everyone that this we should finish this little mission in an hour. Adding all that together, they'll be back here in 10 minutes tops. I think you're seriously underestimating them Kurotsuchi and it shows."

Atsui nervously was watching the Iwa-nin's expression change from suspicious to defensive. _How could he look right through me so clearly?! I don't trust them because I never worked with them! Isn't that common practice? Besides, I also imagine the worst first! I asked you because it is too fast, even if I was the one who'd run through that fucking snowfall, I'd arrive there a minute or two later. I'm being realistic you fucker and for your information, I've been pressuring everybody because none of you had seen how bad the Rotator Virus is!_

"Anyway, are you done with the reading?" She looked away as she asked them.

"Yes." Atsui replied.

"Not yet. We're still fine-tuning some drawings."

"But you can do it back at the camp?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "Are you asking us to go ahead? What if something happens?!"

"Shut up!" She exclaimed.

Shikamaru, who was crouching down earlier while doing the wind patterns, stood up and looked at her head on. "I don't know where you're coming from but it's clear you're panicking. Calm down, we'll wait for the others."

"No, genius." An argument would only delay results to the Five Kage. They needed to decide at the very hour on the next step or else, both the Land of Earth and the Land of Iron would be one step closer to a death spell. "This time I won't listen to your reasoning. Both of you will present that crude data A-S-A-P to the Council and drill into their heads that they're gonna lose two countries soon if they don't act right now!" She was panting amidst the zero degree weather.

The guy was used to being heard out. Nobody in their right mind (except Temari) would disagree with him publicly. If somebody argues with him (like Temari), he'd lazily find a way out of the argument even if it means that he'll make adjustments on his own. At the heat of the moment, Kurotsuchi somehow tugged him enough to make him listen and do as she says. "On your command."

"The two of you should go ahead."

"What about you?" Atsui barked. "It's not safe to stay here alone!"

"If what Shikamaru said was true, then Kankuro's group would arrive here soon. If he is wrong, then he'll blamed if I freeze to death."

"Don't shove the blame to me. I was simply giving you a reasonable solution." Shikamaru imposed. "I can't imagine her being Tsuchikage." He whispered to Atsui who nodded with a huge frown.

The small talk was getting to her nerves. If Shikamaru was truly a genius, he would notice that she was doing this for the urgency. "I was kidding, mofo. Now get your asses moving or I'll kick you myself!"

As Shikamaru had predicted (which she prayed to be accurate), the group arrived in seven minutes. There were no casualties but based on their faces, they carried bad news.

"What did you find out?" Kurotsuchi asked.

"We'll discuss it along the way." Kankuro said.

Chojuro, who was looking around, noticed that Kurotsuchi had been alone for a while. "Hey, where are Shikamaru-san and Atsui-san?"

"They went ahead." Kurotsuchi rubbed her hands. She was feeling too chilly from waiting around. When the leaf genius and Mr. Not-so-Famous left, she started to do stunts to keep her body warm. She was surprised by how mobile koneko-chan was even though he was from a much hotter and arid place. "If nobody is injured, we head back now."

The returning group discussed to their de facto team leader that the Chakra presence was still from the wind. Point B though, one of the afflicted towns, has peculiar traces of chakra on the surface. Chojuro have assumed that it could be marks of the virus itself which Kurotsuchi was unsure of until they have it tested. Kankuro mentioned in passing that their "little mission" is more than enough to deploy an actual team to the Land of Snow but he raised that the Land of Snow is but a small country near the Land of Demons and the Land of Frost. Kurotsuchi then cursed mentally.

 _That Mifune is not saying everything!_

When they have arrived, Kurotsuchi barged in the meeting room with that question in mind. She almost slammed the meeting room's doors open before she realized she had stopped moving.

She screamed out of distraught. "Let me go!"

"No." Replied the Puppet Nin. "Do you think you're going inside by slamming the doors, hitting the table and yelling at whoever or whatever is getting into your nerves?" He shook his head. "Not a chance."

"I don't care about those formalities if my country is being ravished by some virus! LET ME GO!"

"On one condition. Calm down."

"I CAN'T CALM DOWN!" Kurotsuchi did her best to release herself from the chakra strings that were attached to her.

"You can't remove yourself from the chakra strings since my control far exceeds your raw strength." Kankuro said. "We'll come in together. You will do your talking properly. You can scream and shout for all I care but don't do any antics. If you're cool in thirty seconds, I'll release you."

"Fine." She said with reluctance.

"If they ask where the Akane and Chojuro are, tell them that I've asked them to consult with the Land of Snow's meteorologists. They'll be joining us in the meeting room soon."

"Yeah, yeah. Got it." Kurotsuchi said while cocking her head to the sides.

 _Why did you have to stop me? I was gonna barge in to drag out information out of the wily Mifune. You were the fucker who mentioned something about geography. If you didn't mention it I WOULD HAVE REMAINED CALM! GET IT? YOU FUCKER SHOULD EXPLAIN THAT TO THEM!_

When they entered, Shikamaru and Atsui were with someone who seemed to be a scientist. The guy was explaining that the currents could only come from the northern hemisphere. It was the perfect time to speak out and Kurotsuchi didn't drop the chance.

"Excuse me for interrupting, the Head Samurai had mentioned that the wind currents could only come from the Land of Snow." The Five Kage and the Head Samurai had looked at where she was standing. She forgot to seek permission to speak.

"Kurotsuchi, Kankuro reporting back from duty. We're requesting to speak about the matter being discussed."

"Granted." The Raikage, who was the moderator, said.

"Thank you, Raikage-sama. As I've said, the Head Samurai mentioned that the currents are from the Land of Snow earlier, as if directing us to deploy our ninjas there. Can you flash us the map of the world, Shikamaru?"

The Lead Ninja did as asked and showed it for about five seconds and zoomed in on the northern countries.

"Mifune-san, please explain yourself." The Kazekage, who has a penchant for talking out of turn, was the first to interrogate the Head Samurai.

"It started off as a speculation on the part of our Samurai until we had witnesses verifying that a week before the virus started to spread, a group of Ninjas dressed like people from the Land of Snow had infiltrated some of our coastline villages."

"Head Samurai," the Mizukage said, "that is not hard evidence. I believe we should reconsider where we would be deploying the team."

"I'm not yet done," The Samurai scoffed, "these areas were the first to contract the virus."

The Hokage looked at Shikamaru who had nodded, as if asserting that he had gathered the same information.

"Let us have a look of hard evidence, Mifune-dono." The Raikage said.

"We'll be delivering it." The Head Samurai instructed his henchmen to gather the documents.

The Raikage continued. "While waiting for them to return, we'll be planning the operations contra the Rotator Virus. It was established from the combined information from Iwagakure and the Land of Iron that the Virus is a form of advanced medical ninjutsu. Our main destination is the Land of Snow which would be our starting point. We should also deploy the best medical and specialized ninjas to the Land of Iron and the Land of Earth while the operation is ongoing."

"I agree with the Raikage." _Gramps, don't go on talking about BS this time. I'm the one who's been killing mosquitos and pulling my hair!_ "The situation in the Land of Earth is dire. I plead for the medical and special support teams to be deployed in three days."

 _Three days?! Way to go GRAMPS!_

The girl snickered all of a sudden and felt her hand move towards her face by itself. She glared at the poker faced puppeteer who was intently listening.

"As discussed earlier, the Counter-Terrorism division would be organized the soonest but we have to consider carefully the team's make." The Mizukage said. "In my opinion, it's best if we include sensor types in the campaign for the Land of Snow. Also, stealthy ninjutsu styles would be best suited for this mission. At the very least, we should send jounins, ANBU or even a Kage for the double-S rank mission."

"Requesting your permission to speak," Kankuro said in his full voice.

"Granted." The Mizukage said.

Kankuro took a deep breath audible enough for his captive to hear and snicker at. "There's no need to include a Kage-level ninja for an exploration mission. I agree with the Mizukage that jounin and ANBU level ninjas must be the minimum requirement for inclusion in the mission but can we first identify what exactly the role of the Counter-Terrorist team would be, we can be more scrupulous into which people to send. I—"

"He has a point," the Tsuchikage affirmed, "Should we limit it to information gathering?"

"That's too safe." Kurotsuchi interrupted. _Ack! I forgot that I'm in a Kage Meeting!_ "… Tsuchikage-sama. Requesting permission—"

"You're already talking anyway, fire." Her grandfather shot. She could see her father, right behind _his_ father, shaking his head while praying to all the saints that he knew by name.

"We don't have the luxury of time to limit the team to information gathering. As one of the jounins in-charge of this outbreak in the Land of Earth, it's imperative that the team should ambush or capture the culprits as soon as they find a lead. Time is against us. Every day, more and more people are dying because of this virus. It won't take long before a whole continent falls because of it! It's best to stop it while the death count is not too bad."

"I understand, Kurotsuchi but due to the uncertainties that lie ahead, attacking head-on poses too much risk." The Raikage commented.

For the first time, the masked Hokage spoke. "I would have to agree with the Raikage on this. We should ask Kankuro for his opinion on how to go about this."

"Very well." The Raikage agreed.

"Taking into account our contrasting recommendations, I suggest organizing two four or five man cells. Each team would have two information gathering specialists while the other two would be highly-skilled assassins – capable of all scales. If worse comes to worst, then we would have a chance to regroup and take on the targets as fit. If I can request names, I'll be humbly requesting for Ao and Sai."

"I support his proposal." The Kazekage declared. "Although, I think we're going to have a hard time in selecting ninjas to Kankuro's liking in a short span of time. Before that, I think we should ask Kurotsuchi if she agrees about the team structure."

"No objections to that, Kazekage-dono." She answered.

"We can start nominating then." Gaara said. "Other than Kankuro, I would recommend ANBU operatives Sora and Yagami. Our medical team would also be on stand-by and ready to respond whenever Iwagakure request help."

The Hokage said. "I shall nominate Jounin Aburame Shino and ANBU operative Sai. A medical team led by Haruno Sakura will be commissioned also as part of the medical support team in the Lands of Earth and Iron."

"As Kankuro-dono had requested, Kirigakure would loan Ao, one of the best sensor types, to the said division. Chojuro and Haku would be nominated as well." The Mizukage added. "If Iwagakure or the Samurai requests for medical help, we can deploy some personnel."

"Jounins Kurotsuchi and Doro are Iwagakure's nomination." Her grandfather felt compelled to include her in the mission as part of her training. Kurotsuchi was strong and smart but in actual missions, there's always one part where she screws up. Her tendency to overlook things is her biggest flaw and only experience can teach her to stop doing it. "Most of our ninjas are occupied with the mission. I apologize for not being able to nominate any more."

"It's understood, Tsuchikage-dono." The Mizukage, who had the best temperament among the Kages, said… except when it concerns the matters of marriage.

"Kumogakure nominates C, Atsui and Omoi." The Raikage, who hated dilly-dallies was almost always straight to point and ready to give a punch. He cleared his through before continuing. "With that, Kankuro and Kurotsuchi would be assigned to lead the teams to infiltrate, investigate and eliminate the source of this virus. Begin your planning as soon as you leave this room. Both of you are dismissed."

"Yes." Kankuro gave a curt bow which Kurotsuchi followed.

When they went out, the Sand Ninja started warming both of his hands. He did his best to keep his composure during the meeting in spite of the cold he is feeling.

"Before we start planning, you should be placed _inside_ the fire place." Kurotsuchi said to herself.

"I heard that." The man replied.

"There is a fireplace in the pantry. While you're warming yourself, we can start choosing the men who should be on our teams."

The jounins headed to the empty pantry which can seat some thirty people. All it had were four variants vending machines that were not exciting. Kurotsuchi immediately lost her appetite to taste something in her mouth. Out of concern of the guy who lived in the desert, she took a cup of coffee.

He was already positioned two feet away from the fireplace when she found him.

"Hey, drink this." She said.

"It looks like you need it more than me." He retorted.

 _Can't you see my fucking holy deed?! I AM giving this to YOU. Koneko-chan, you should be GRATEFUL TO ME._

"I don't like any of the shit they have here." Kurotsuchi slumped against the chair opposite to where he was.

"So you're serving me shit."

"It is shit to me but it may not be shit to you." Kurotsuchi fumed. "Geez, here I am doing something pretty good for you and you're complaining about it. Throw it in the fire for all I care."

"You didn't have to react like that. It's rude for me to take something if you're not having one yourself."

 _An unexpected gentleman is hidden under the cat suit, face paint and the sultry brunette?_

"There's no need." Kurotsuchi smiled. "I'm not hungry or thirsty. And I'm not exactly feeling too cold."

"Then, thank you." Kankuro faced her and wrapped his hands around the hot paper cup. "Getting burned is definitely better than being frosted.

"Try saying that to some of the Samurai." Kurotsuchi chuckled. "Anyway, how does the Counter-Terrorism Division do things?"

"Three words." Kankuro released the cup from his hands. "Information, stealth, and survival. First, the mission is worth the knowledge we acquire. Our division does our best to extract information out of our targets. Sometimes, it _is our only_ mission. There is no point in killing or capturing them when we don't find anything about them. You see, terrorism is like a huge network of like-minded bastards. Almost always, they work closely together, or if not, they work similarly. Second, stealth works in two ways for us: one is about the secrecy of our division and the second one is our approach. Nobody besides a few shinobi should know of our operations. If word about us leaks, it will tarnish the face of this union. I mean, a normal citizen would think that 'I though there's peace. Why is there a division against terrorist threats?' and all those other self-righteous bullshit comments would lower the confidence people have on the Shinobi Union. Also, when we work, we do it quietly. Our presence must be only known if we want to or else there would be unnecessary casualties. Which comes to the third and most important word: survival. I always tell this to our new recruits: 'If you're confronted by an undefeatable enemy, run for your life."

When he held the cup again with both of his hands, Kurotsuchi scowled. She's sure that the Sand Shinobi would have a tough time in this mission but he was the appointed guy to lead the division since its inception. There was no way that he'll chicken out because of frost bites. Much to her chagrin, she caught herself thinking about the guy's well-being rather than focusing on the task itself. The Iwa kunoichi shook her spirit's head and diverted her focus towards the burning fire right behind the guy in the cat suit.

"I do not take pleasure in burying dead bodies of my comrades or informing their family that their husband, wife, lover, son or daughter had died during a mission." He formed a light smile. "I don't expect you to conform to how we do things. Heck, I could just imagine. Since you're technically part of our division for this mission and as a Team Leader, my only request from you is to keep everyone alive. If the mission goes wrong, we'll patch it up. If it's bigger than us, leave it and we'll return. There is nothing worse than losing our lives for this."

"You don't sound like a shinobi." She slurred.

"That's because you haven't seen it all, kid. Don't tell me that I didn't warn you."

Ever since she had seen his bare face, no amount of face paint or hoods can mask it from her. While she was listening to how the Counter-Terrorism Division works, she recognized how much it embodies his aspirations. She admired the ideals of the man before her and without knowing it, Kurotsuchi felt her heart beating faster when she accidentally looked him in the eye squarely.


	6. Four Days

**Chapter 6: Four Days**

After Kankuro and Kurotsuchi had finalized their teams and plans, the emergency meeting was concluded and each village representative had sent birds to their villages to deploy the requested ninjas namely: Sai and Shino of the Leaf, Yagami of the Sand, C and Atsui of the Cloud, Ao and Haku of the Mist, and Doro of the Stone. Kankuro would lead the team comprising of Sai, C, Haku and Yagami while the rest would be with Kurotsuchi's team. Each team had a sensor (C and Ao), a powerhouse (Haku and Kurotsuchi), covert operator (Kankuro and Sai), and versatile shinobi (Shino, Yagami, Atsui, and Doro).

It wasn't the best lineup that would allow them to have a winning streak in a Team vs. Team montage. That was reserved for Konoha's Team 7 and the now defunct Sand Siblings. When Kankuro saw the credentials of the list, he was impressed. While he was already familiar with the expertise of Sai, Shino (whom he had a terrible match draw), Yagami (he was one of those ANBU guys you don't mess with), the rest had stellar accomplishments. Haku had the Ice Kekkei Genkai, Kurotsuchi has both Lava and Boil Release, Atsui and C are both above average kenjutsu users and Ao is this historic sensor ninja. They were a good bunch, too skilled, but they never had the chance to work together and that's where his worry begins. Keeping a group _like that_ together would be double the effort.

In three days, the team rendezvous at Iwagakure where Kankuro and Kurotsuchi had been going about strategies. It was mostly petty arguments between the two strong-willed ninjas from previously warring villages. If it weren't for the union, Kankuro was certain that they would have clawed each other's throats for every disagreement they had which was present in every strategy. He considers himself as too safe and he finds her too risky. And both of them have a substantial amount of ego that flows in their blood.

He told Shikamaru about Gaara's state and had also called Temari about it. Their brother-in-law decided to accompany the Kazekage back to Suna (due to the absence of Kankuro, the Kage bodyguard) but he got a verbal lashing from his wife who then, nagged Baki out of Sunagakure to escort the Kazekage back home. Baki arrived within the next two and a half days with five Sand Shinobi. In times like that, Kankuro couldn't help but miss his sister.

His younger brother gave his blessing, not as his political leader, but as his family. "When you get back, let's have a vacation with our sister."

"It's just like any other mission, Gaara. I'll be back in Suna in no time." He said while trying to hide an ominous feeling he kept on having. "Take care of yourself." The older one placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. That has always been their gesture of reassurance, affection (and all those sweet emotions) even with their sister. They never do it but if they do, a whirlpool of emotions is toying with their steel hearts. The last time he had done that hand gesture was when Temari got married. She frowned immediately and hugged both of her brothers.

"Very well." The Kazekage looked at the distant figure behind the jounin. "Kurotsuchi?"

"Yes?" She said in her usual vibrant tone.

"Keep an eye on my brother."

The brainwaves of Kurotsuchi and Kankuro clashed in the hemisphere. Both of them glared at each other, Gaara, who is confused watched them.

 _Kurotsuchi: Hey fucker, did your elders teach your brother how to give his regards to a girl? Looks like he doesn't know how to properly use it!_

 _Kankuro: What the fuck are you even doing here? Are you sending him off too? No wonder my innocent brother got the wrong idea._

 _Kurotsuchi: I was asked by gramps to see off you, a fucking cat-suit-wearing brute's brother._

"Did I say something wrong?" He whispered to Kankuro.

"People got the wrong idea with what you said." The brunette was hysterical and uncomfortable with the happy stares he keeps on getting from his associates. Even Baki who never showed any interest in the siblings' personal affairs had visibly snorted. "And I think you'll have to explain it to them for the next six days."

"Okay. Should I start my narration about your encounter in the infirmary?" Gaara said softly.

 _Since when he did start noticing those things?_ Kankuro twitched at Gaara's newfound observation skills. Before he had encountered Hakuto and Shijima, he never an inkling about romance and all those fluttering moments. Actually, even after he had met them, he barely noticed those things although at a lesser extent. _How could he actually tease me with Kurotsuchi when he doesn't know about those things at all?!_

"It's not what you think…"

"What is it then?" The Kazekage's pale green eyes blinked… and blinked…. As if asking for a proper explanation.

"We just… don't get along too well."

"Really? I thought…" Gaara looked again at the kunoichi of interest who was writhing in anger. "Is she angry?"

"Very." Kankuro crouched down to his brother's level. "Actually, I wanna beat up some of those guys right behind you who are turning giggly and slimy." The fearsome Suna Shinobi were cackling that one of their top jounins is being placed in the care of an Iwagakure kunoichi. They were talking of how a long distance love affair has contributed to the jounin's bad temper even though he was already branded as such even before that very instance. Everything became illogical in his eyes all because of a misinterpretation of his brother.

"So where should I start the story?" He was reminded.

"There's no beginning Gaara." He sighed. "Anyway, you should get going. Take care."

"See you Kankuro." He suddenly waved at the dark-haired girl. "You too, Kurotsuchi!"

 _He is never capable of exclamations like that! He's really making fun of me!_

"Give my regards to Shijima!" Kankuro countered. All of a sudden, the Kazekage wondered why the heck Kankuro would drop Shijima's name out of nowhere.

His innocent, naïve, and inexperienced brother is turning not so nice anymore. Behind his baby-face visage, Kankuro could not fathom how could the idea of pairing his love-stricken older brother with somebody who has a temperament comparable to the Shukaku, spring in the redhead's brain cells. At least to get even, he flung one of Gaara's thought triggers…Shijima. Now, the redhead won't have the creative juices to re-count the arguments that transpired between the Sand and Stone Kage bodyguards and give it a romantic twist. But it may not work, if some of his entourage would ask him about details, Gaara would definitely say it like nothing. Kankuro then, thought of tackling his brother (he has the best taijutsu among his siblings) when he returns.

While thinking of ways on how to shut his brother up, he was reminded of a larger tribulation in the form of a flying punch. He blocked using his hands and felt the sting. Kurotsuchi, a known short-range fighter, intended to hit him hard and if he didn't dodge, the Shinobi Union would have to reappoint a different Team Leader for the upcoming mission.

She pulled down his collar to lower the Sand Nin's head to her level and screamed right in front of his painted face. "WHATVEBNTLINGTHBRTHYRSBTME?!"

All his ears captured was the tremendous volume. No words were successfully received and processed. "I didn't understand anything."

She took a deep breath and yelled in the same intensity but slower. "WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN TELLING THAT STUPID BROTHER OF YOURS ABOUT ME HUH?!"

"NOTHING!" He was tempted to hit her back but since she was a girl and they were in her village which happens to be ruled by her grandfather so, he can't pick a fight with the Stone girl. "He only thought of that because of how you have been approaching me."

The female jounin then, kneed the man's abdomen which he reinforced with chakra but it was too late since he felt the impact badly. She meant to hit him like how she hits her enemies and he wasn't pleased by her childish conduct. He believed it was too little a thing to get riled up and to actually hit him with such destructive power. The idea of the girl being too stubborn and irrational got to his nerves. His usual acerbic yet jaunty mood turned very sour.

"What are you reacting like that for?" He was serious and the girl felt that he was going to get back at her.

"I don't want people getting the wrong idea about me." She said while trying to hide her guilt. "I am a candidate to being the Fourth Tsuchikage and I don't want some stupid gossip affect my sterling reputation."

"You're the one who is destroying your reputation. Less than ten people have heard what Gaara said and all of them except you are from Sunagakure. I don't get you." He stretched his body to check if Kurotsuchi's strike would be healed soon. When he relaxed, he felt that it would bruise badly. "Keep your behavior in check. I don't want your frolicking affecting our operation. If you think you can't contain that bullshit, quit."

"Fine, fine. I get it." She said nonchalantly.

They were supposed to report back to the Tsuchikage and formally receive the mission. Kankuro was expecting more bickering with the girl but he had to snap at her to stop her from being too violent. Well, he didn't might if she gets too brash or rough at times but they're not exactly close friends. The previous days had confirmed that the playful girl has found a liking to him. He didn't mind the attention or maybe she was just friendly but when she kept on mocking the face paint and cat suit in front of Akatsuchi, Doro and the rest of the team, the Sand Nin cussed at himself, knowing that the girl's crushing won't do her or him any good.

He remained taciturn en route to the Tsuchikage's office regardless of her attempts to strike a conversation. When they had arrived, Kankuro simply did the routine, gave the two teams a prep talk and gave them the rest of the day off. They will meet by 3:00 AM the following day. All the preparations had been cared of. On his part, Kankuro needed to regress. Whenever he has to face an immense mission or needed time to reflect, he'll lock himself up in his room and reflect. It was his pet peeve that he couldn't get off even after the war.

When he finished his spiritual hobby, he called up Gaara. In two rings, his brother picked up.

"Did I call you at a good or bad tim-"

"Kankuro. Great… the guys are quite pleased with the developments."

At first, he didn't follow what Gaara told him. "What are-Don't tell me you told them about Kurotsuchi?!" All his meditation were for naught. His temper rose from negative infinity to a hundred.

"What else could it be?" It was hard to find a reason to get mad at Gaara. Even if he used to be a stone cold killer turned before he become the Kazekage, he only looks like one thing to Kankuro now: a teddy bear. An adorable thing full of fluff. And he can't accept that this teddy bear is turning to a matchmaker.

"Gaara, on what grounds do you base these assumptions of yours?"

"Easy. It all started when she saw you without anything on."

Kankuro heard a roar of laughter coming from the other side of the line. They must have taken it literally. "Gaara, do me a favor will you?"

"Yes?"

"Can you tell those bastards what you meant exactly?" He said while tightly gripping the phone. The poor thing had withstood many of its owner's attempts to break it but it stood undamaged. Maybe it could endure a bit longer, but the phone felt that the Sand Ninja was never as mad as he was then.

"All I meant was that she saw you without your standard bunraku and kabuki getup." Gaara added. "I also told them the bit about you being referred to as 'koneko-chan'."

That Gaara did it. Kankuro snapped while he was crushing the black mobile phone, out of fear of its life, it slipped from his fingers. He instead, punched the floorboards and left a hole. He reached for his phone. "Gaara, think about your brother's reputation will you?" He said while forming a smile on his face to sound kind. Now he felt what Kurotsuchi is feeling: the ultimate despair.

"I think this is better than you being called as asexual."

His eyes popped out. "You know what that word means?!"

"I read about it..." Gaara said. "Are you worried that you'll be mistook as somebody you're not? You're not asexual... and I'm telling the guys here."

"That's how it is. You see, Kurotsuchi and I are anything but lovers. We're working closely together at the moment for a SS-class mission. After this, expect things to go downhill. She'll be back as the foul-mouthed girl we all know but it's a given that we won't talk to each other unless needed."

"Too bad then…" Gaara said.

"Instead of worrying about how my relationships are, think about yours. You're the Kazekage. You need to get married and produce an heir."

"How?" He could imagine him blankly looking at him with his head slightly leaning on the right.

"Accept some of your engagement offers."

"I don't like any of them."

"I'll choose for you then."

"Mind your stuff and I'll mind mine."

He grinned. Gaara was turning cheeky. _How did he get so sassy?_ "Just so you know, I'm not looking for a girlfriend or whatever. It seems you are much more eager to secure a date."

"Nah. Your status with Kurotsuchi interests me more at the moment." He forgot about the entourage until he heard a group of men laughing again.

"I won't be calling you and Temari any time soon. The earliest would be once I return from this mission." Kankuro diverted the topic. "Temari asked you to call her once you arrive in Suna."

"I will call her. I'd just have to prepare my ears."

"Don't worry. She's much sweeter to you."

"But she still yells at me." The Kazekage sighed. "I'll be waiting for your call Kankuro. Take care."

"You too."

"Bye."

"Bye."

After he had ended the call, he immediately called his sister.

The first ring didn't even finish when she accepted the call.

"What the heck have I been hearing about you going to the Land of Snow with Sai and Aburame?"

"Yeah, our Division is going there. Those two are handpicked men of the Hokage's recommendation that's why they're joining me."

"I heard it's a double S-class mission." She sounded mad. It spelled hell for Kankuro's ears. His phone began crying now.

"It is."

"Do you really wanna die?"

"I accepted an order, that's just it."

"You're not fooling me, young man. There are so many shinobi who are much better than you for this mission. How come it is _you leading this expedition_ out of all jounins in the world?"

"My division was selected to lead it. Kurotsuchi was very convincing when she believed that this virus is caused by a bunch of terrorists."

"But you're not using men from your division."

"Because I, personally, am not sure if it's a terrorist attack to begin with."

"So you fucking went along with it?"

"What kind of mother are you Temari? Shikadai-chan might hear you."

"That lazy kid doesn't need to hear me cuss. He's starting to sneer and make faces at people whenever he's displeased."

"Huh? Really? I guess that's proof that he really is the product between _you and Shikamaru."_

"I can see where the laziness is coming from. I just can't imagine how rotten his manners are."

"Look whose talkin'?"

"Huh?"

"Come on Temari, we all know where Shikadai-chan took his manners from."

"Don't distract me from our original discussion." She cleared her throat. "If you were uncertain yourself, why did you accept the mission?"

"It's bad out here in the Land of Earth. When I saw Kurotsuchi's presentation, I was persuaded that this is not a normal outbreak. The rest of the Kage were also unsure if we should be deployed but information gathering and killing off targets, we're not a bad choice. I think that's the reason why I'm tapped. Don't worry Temari, its one heck of a team."

"Other than Shino and Sai, who else?"

"Ao and Haku from Kiri, Yagami from Suna, Doro and Kurotsuchi from Iwa, C and Atsui from Kumo."

"Are you going to a Kage Summit?"

"See, I told you."

"Wait! That's just an introduction to my point."

"Fuck, I can't imagine how your husband can deal with your mouth."

"At least I make sense. Anyway, Kankuro you've been doing too many S-class missions of late. The fuck has gotten into you?!"

"You must have yelled at Gaara to get that information."

"Not Gaara, idiot. That lazy husband of mine told me before he left for the emergency meeting."

"Oh, he slipped his tongue."

"More like I had to drag it out his mouth."

"Dear God, I'm sorry for understating my sister."

"Very funny. This suicidal streak of yours is not going anywhere. You—"

"I'm not dying. I don't have any plans of dying and I don't intend to in the near future. Both you and Gaara are getting worked up for nothing."

"See, we are unto something. What the fuck is going on inside that head of yours?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing means _something._ " Temari gave a heavy sigh. "Come on, talk to me."

If Kankuro were to talk, he'll divulge all his death wishes directed to one person. He's going to mope on how the Ice Queen had made a fool out of him after he had committed to her. How dare she throw him away when he had already committed to her? All of his previous flings would offer sacrifices to all sorts of deity just to hear Kankuro say that he will be committing in a long-term relationship but Samui was indifferent to it and even hated him for doing so. And now, he saw his brother who was indifferent to him. Yes, he should be because Samui never told her family about his existence in her life while he had compromised his personal life just to be with her. It was the perfect example of romantic bigotry and he hated how he fell in the trap of the Ice Queen.

"Hey Kankuro, I'm still here." His sister muttered.

"Geez, you caught me."

" _Something's_ up. Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's still the same story Temari."

"Gosh, two years and you still haven't recovered."

'A year and five months."

"Almost two years, sorry."

"It would take more time but not yet."

* * *

Thanks for reading again!

Finally, Temari makes her appearance! For Temari lovers (like me), I promise she'll have more exposure in the next chapters. :)


	7. The Land of Snow

**Chapter 7: The Land of Snow**

Sneaking in unchartered lands is supposed to be second nature for shinobi. But seeing at how unique the northern country was proved much difficulty for the allied ninja. Firstly, not everyone would seamlessly blend in with the locals. They have textbook knowledge on how they are as a culture; hardworking, serious and tough people as influenced by the harsh climate. Blondes were plentiful but brunettes are also present. Shino, Sai, Atsui, C, Doro, Ao and Haku could easily pass off as locals. Because of her pink eyes, it was too risky to have Kurotsuchi pretend as a citizen of the Land of Snow. Seven of them were to assume identities of Snow locals for the mission because entry during the first quarter of the year was tough with the high influx of pre-booked tourists because of the series of festivals the Land of Snow calls 'The Monsoon Eves'. This symbolizes that in the first quarter of every year, the wind movements in the Land of Snow would change directions at almost every three weeks. Two out of four nights of the festival has passed.

The festival validated some of Kurotsuchi's theories but it was ungrounded. All she needed was hard proof and there's no way that she's going to let it slip through her fingers.

Seven out of ten of them had went straight from the Land of Earth to the Land of Snow. But for her, Kankuro and Yagami, they made a stop in the Land of Frost. None of them looked alike so passing of as relatives was tough. The cover they would be using is to join a group tour organized by the Land of Frost. They haven't spoken a word since the mission was commenced.

Since they left her home country, it took the touring group to arrive in a week. Kurotsuchi was itching to start the mission because it two weeks for the union to mobilize them. It was a disappointment on her part knowing that too many people in her home would die.

When they had arrived on shore, the touring group checked in an inn located at the city center. Two blocks north from the said inn, there's a small research institute dedicated to entomology where Shino was posing as a visiting researcher. He's living a block away with his father (Ao) in a run-down apartment. From east of the inn, five blocks away Sai, C and Haku's covers would be acrobat entertainers. Three blocks south from the inn, Atsui had already gotten a part-time job as a dishwasher at a Chinese restaurant where he had already placed the owner and the nearby stores that he has been working there for a year already. In the same block. In the same block, Doro had occupied a deserted department as a businessman from the far north of the Land of Snow who used to live in the said place (the man's death did not make the news).

The group would communicate through scrolls, a special formula from Shino and Sai's pets. When the touring group had no additional plans for the day, Kurotsuchi had written using the special formula that they had arrived. After a minute or two, Shino's bugs started to land on the surface with the solution and left when they had absorbed the kanji characters. She was much impressed by what she had seen. In another minute, another set of bugs had arrived and formed the word 'Hot', Atsui's code name, against the wall. That only meant that the guys had already acquired some information and they were itching to share it to her.

She slumped against the wooden floorboards for a few seconds before putting back her brown winter coat on. Wearing a maroon, heavy wool dress and winter stockings was uncomfortable for the Land of Earth native. It somehow vexed her that she had underestimated the cold and now, it's getting through her skin.

 _Sometimes, your ego bites you hard enough to pull you back to the ground._

After mentally debating with her inner voice, the lady jounin kicked out her boots and wore another pair of winter stockings over the one she had on. It felt significantly better, considering that she had to walk through two-feet deep of snow. She hid her ninja tools in the oddest places of her room like the fridge and behind bathroom pipes. Security in the city was too wary on the tourists. She has to avoid rousing suspicion and play the part of the rich girl from the Land of Earth.

She told couple housed in the room next to her that she is going out to eat Chinese Food. Atsui and Doro's area was just fifteen minutes from the inn. While walking, the girl had noticed that there were too many on-duty ninjas.

 _Perhaps they are already aware of the threat?_

Some locals had been staring at her because of her pink eyes. Wearing contacts was out of the question since she might actually forget putting them on.

The Chinese restaurant stood out too much in the food street as it was packed with tourists. As she waited for an empty table, a few groups of men had invited her to join them. Coyly refusing is what a rich girl would do and that she did. She wasn't sure how Atsui would sit down and talk to her when he was supposed to cook and wait in the restaurant. The Kumo Ninja escorted her to an empty table. One of the guys in the touring group sat with his back facing her at the table right in front of her. He was a travel magazine writer from the Land of Wind. If it were true, Kurotsuchi would have avoided the guy at all costs but she knew that the writer persona is façade of the other team leader in their mission.

Kankuro had not worn any face paint or wore his usual black getup since they boarded the ship for the Land of Frost. He played the part of the lively, amiable and daredevil travel journalist too well that even Yagami was convinced that the guy was not a fellow Suna Ninja at the moment. Gathering information as a journalist is easy and in a week's time, Kankuro had gathered more info in the Land of Frost, the ship and upon arrival than she and Yagami combined. In the restaurant, he wore a dark blue scarf and a green trench coat over a beige turtle necked sweater, blue jeans and brown winter boots. It was stylish enough but the attention he was getting from the opposite was not because of his clothes but the aura he released as a confident, boy-next-door with a cool job.

He has been talking with the waiter, Atsui, and some of the other locals, about little things like 'Why are there so many tourists this year?', 'Is it true that an aurora borealis would appear in the next Eve?', 'Add that dish to my order!', and some other things that would make any tourist want to listen and any local to answer.

When the man at the table on her right answered one the "writer's" questions about the weather in the Land of Snow, he glanced at her and gave a friendly smile… something that she had never seen him do in like ever.

"Thanks pops!"

"It's my pleasure." The man replied.

Kankuro, currently posing as Takumi, pretended to realize that the girl with pink eyes was somebody he was acquainted with.

"Hi there!" He waved at her. "We're in the same touring group right?"

"Yes!" Kurotsuchi didn't want to lose at how good he was at his role. "Let's see… You're Takumi-san, right?" She said politely.

"Wow. You actually got my name correctly! I'm alone. Do you mind if join your table? It's useless for me to occupy one all by myself when there's a long queue already. Gotta be considerate, doncha think?"

"Sure, I don't mind." Kurotsuchi smiled.

 _I'm not Kurotsuchi right now. My name is Ueda Chiaki. I'm the only daughter of a market-moving investor who has raised me away from the public eye. I am currently twenty years old and travelling the world._

"Miss, I'm sorry to ask this, but can you tell me your name?" He smiled. "You never speak much during dinner time and you don't really hang out with anybody except the couple from the Land of Earth." He was brushing his thick brunette hair to appear modest about it.

"It's nothing." She nervously waved her hands. "My name is Ueda Chiaki. You can address me as Chiaki. Nice to meet you properly Takumi-san." Kurotsuchi bowed her head a bit.

"I'm Takumi from the Land of Wind. Let me guess, you're from the Land of Fire."

"Actually… I'm from the Land of Earth."

"Ugh! Really? I thought you were from the Land of Fire."

"What made you say so?"

"Let's see… You're always wearing red. Red and Fire. Got it?"

Ueda Chiaki would certainly laugh at what he said but Kurotsuchi would kick him in the face. She composed herself mentally before giggling like a good girl would. "People from the Land of Earth usually wear red… and yellow. From what I saw in my travels, those from the Land of Fire, wear a variety of colors but stick to blue and green usually."

A travel journalist would be interested to hear if somebody is travel savvy which is what he did. "D'you travel too? A lot?"

"Been hopping around places for six months now." Chiaki smiled.

"Six months? Wait, so you're travelling for fun and not for anything?"

"A yes and a yes."

"Amazing!" He looked too impressed. It was so convincing that Kurotsuchi wanted to give him an award as the best ninja actor. "The farthest place I could get with my own money is just the Konoha. Damn, you must so rich."

Kurotsuchi gave a nervous laugh.

Atsui served Takumi's order — one big bowl of wonton noodles, five siopao buns of various flavors, six pieces of pork dumplings, and one serving of liangpi. The writer added two servings of almond jelly for desert to be served after he has finished everything.

"You're eating all of that?" Chiaki asked.

"Yes. It's my job." Takumi was almost excited to taste all the flavors waiting to be eaten. Kurotsuchi wanted to steal his bowl of cold noodles but the Chiaki cover was keeping her from acting normally. "What are you having?"

"I just got here so they haven't assisted me yet." She smiled.

"No way." Takumi called the attention of one waiter who scurried to where he was. "Waiter-san, my lady friend here has been here for quite some time but her order wasn't taken." He said in his friendly, Takumi tone but the man in the cat suit suddenly appeared. His sharp eyes emerged and that brash manner of talking replaced the jaunty Takumi. "Will you take it now or what?"

The teen nodded profusely. "Miss what's your order?!" He said quickly.

"I'd like to have some Sweet and Sour Pork with rice and tofu."

"Anything else?" The nervous boy asked.

"Not anymore. Thank you." She gave a civil smile to the jittery server. If it was Kurotsuchi, she'll scare the kid even more. In that situation, Chiaki would have asked Takumi to eat first because his food will cool. "Takumi-san, you should start tasting your food now."

"No, Chiaki-chan. It's ungentlemanly." He shook his head. "But do you mind if I take photos of the food?"

"I don't."

The disguised Sand Shinobi took photos of each dish in varying angles. His camera movements were sloppy and even a child would recognize that he was not used to handling that piece of technology. In every reasonable photo he has captured, Kankuro would be awed by his achievement. His smiles, laugh and small talk looked and sounded too real to be a disguise. It left his co-team leader baffled and thwarted. At first she wasn't sure why she was feeling unprivileged from what she was seeing.

 _If it was the real Kankuro_ , _then I'm missing out a lot. He has a good genuine smile… not those arrogant smirks that he always flashes whenever he gets the chance._

When her food had arrived, the pair feasted on the Chinese cuisine. Both Chiaki and Takumi shared trivial _comments_ about the food, place and anything that catches one's attention. After finishing her small servings, Chiaki was left to watching the man before her finish all the food he had ordered. It took him an hour and half before he could call back the waiter, Atsui, to serve them the almond jelly. It was only then Kurotsuchi had noticed that most of the patrons have cleared out. Only a few remained and were apparently too focused in stuffing themselves with food.

"Excuse me for a bit." The puppeteer said.

Chiaki nodded.

"Waiter-san?" Kankuro called out to Atsui. The brunette stood and walked to where he was.

"Yes sir?"

"I'm Takumi, a journalist from the Land of Wind. I was wondering if you your restaurant has a profile, website or something."

The owner's ears flapped when the journalist had stated his interest. "Hello Takumi-san! I'm Takeshi, the owner of this place! Yes! We have what you're asking for!" The high-spirited owner jumped at the writer.

"Should I get the copies, boss?" The waiter asked.

"Please do so! Did you say you're from the Land of Wind?" The owner queried.

"Yes."

"I see. We don't have a lot of tourists from that area."

"It's because of the contrasting weather." The brunette told him. "Even I am having some troubles adjusting." He gave a pleasant chuckle.

Atsui walked to where Kankuro was and handed an envelope. "Here you go sir!"

"Thank you very much." Kankuro took the envelope and held it in one hand.

"You're a blessing Takumi-san!" The owner fawned at him.

"Your food is great! Even my lady friend likes it." He returned to his seat and gave Chiaki a Kankuro expression; a sharp, serious gaze.

Kurotsuchi, in a second, reverted from her demure rich girl movements to the quick-witted and sassy kunoichi she was. "Takumi-san, you haven't touched your almond jelly." She told him in Chiaki's tone.

"Oh! Sorry about that! I was thinking of heading back just now." "Takumi" stretched his back before eating the desert. "Damn, this _is so_ great. I feel _sooo_ accomplished today."

"Is it because you found a place to write about?"

"Yes and it's definitely something to add to one's to-do list in the Land of Snow."

"Do you have another stop for tonight?" The girl asked.

"Hmmm… It's already eight o'clock. Maybe we can take the long way back to the inn and see the city's night life." Kankuro returned and he gave a quick wink at her.

Her heart skipped a beat.

 _Was that a wink? This fucker would surely get it later._

"I'm not sure…" She looked sideways as if she's unsure. "It would be much safer to stay with Takumi-san at this time of the evening."

"Then that seals it." Kankuro stood up. "Let's go!" He lightly grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the restaurant.

When they were on the road and out of sight of onlookers, Kurotsuchi pulled her hand away from him. She moved closer to him and gave him an inaudible, ear-lashing. "The fuck was that for."

"I needed a reason to hang out with you more often. The sight in the restaurant would show that the happy-go-lucky writer is trying to hook up with the rich girl."

"It's a cliché."

"It is _a cliché_ but we're good actors and it looked natural. Even Atsui _is not expecting_ that." He said monotonously. "Anyway, I had to do it. If you're gonna beat me up or something, do it when this mission is done."

"Yeah, yeah. I got it." Kurotsuchi said. "Anyway, how are you gonna check the profile now?"

"When we get back to the inn, I will sneak in your room."

"Well, I can do it."

"Remember, there's no reason for us to stay in each other's room. And based on the script, it is likely that Takumi would make the first move on Chiaki."

"Fine." Kurotsuchi's heart was beating fast. It has been a while since she was in a flirting session with anybody. Even if Chiaki and Takumi are roles they had to play, the actor had an effect on her. She wasn't sure yet, but Kurotsuchi knows that she's _believing_ him even though they both know it's an act. That is tormenting her. The fact that the fake romance is not true yet she wants to accept it as real is making her feel uneasy.

"If you're having some problems with the ploy, just pretend you're too shy to talk or do anything about it. I'll cover for you. After all, I am the outgoing guy and you're this refined person."

"It's so phony." She commented.

"I'm actually glad it _is._ " Kankuro reacted.

 _Ouch. So he really isn't interested…_

Takumi and Chiaki looked around the small shops selling all those cute items that would fool all sorts of tourists into buying. Chiaki was eyeing a snowdrop in the middle of the crowd. Takumi then asked her to cover her eyes and count to ten. As she uttered 'ten', she felt something smooth and cold slither at the back of her right ear.

"Wh-what was that Takumi-san?"

"A secret." He smiled at her.

She squinted her eyes at him.

"Well, you can ask anybody but me." He smiled at her. "Should we return to the inn?"

"After _I ask somebody el—"Chiaki_ was thrown off when she saw a pre-teen blond girl looking at her with admiration. "Hi there. My friend here placed something on my head. Can you tell me what it is?"

The girl giggled. "Yes onee-chan. You have two snowdrops there. It looks so nice onee-chan."

She noticed that her face was turning red. She tugged the collar of her coat upwards to cover at least half of her glowing face.

"Chiaki-chan?" Takumi followed her as she walked pass him.

"L-let's go." It wasn't Chiaki speaking that time. It was a pained Kurotsuchi who wished to have some time alone to finally settle her thoughts and feelings about the man who has pissed her off, argued with her, mocked her, and scared her. She knew who exactly he was; a face-paint and cat-suit-wearing, laid-back guy with a temper who happens to be the best living puppeteer in the Shinobi world. She doesn't find anything wrong with hating him. And liking him either.

 _Is it possible to hate somebody and like him all at the same time?_

The rest of their walk was silent with Kurotsuchi keeping herself ten paces away. When they had arrived in the inn, she headed straight to her room but had heard Kankuro or Takumi talk with some of the men who were having a smoke.

As soon as she got in her room, she laid on the tatami mat and looked at the full moon. The sky was clear and the stars twinkled at her irregularly. The barren trees are covered with snow but it had stopped snowing like a painting. It was the perfect ambience to reflect on things.

 _Tonight, I should find out within this self what I think and feel about him. I've known him for almost four years but never had any actual interaction with him. All we have in common is that we're both of Kage descent, Kage bodyguards, and respected jounins of our respective villages. We're roughly the same age too. He's just older by a year. Well, everything became disarrayed when I made that one bang on the infirmary's door and woke him up. I didn't expect him to look like that. I should have expected it because his brother is the cutesy Gaara and his sister is the hot Temari, but I never saw his face in reality and when I did it was like seeing something like a fairy as an adult. You know it's there but since you don't perceive it, you forget or don't believe the fact that he looks like that, until you actually see him. I was too shocked. If I had known he was that attractive, would I have treated him differently earlier? I don't really know. We never really had the chance to deal with each other until now._

Kurotsuchi removed both of her winter stockings and hung them in her dresser. Then she resumed to her flayed position on the tatami.

 _Where was I…?_

 _Yeah… All the smirking, snarling, cursing and mocking we did must have sparked something in me. It was just a bit of discussion. Well, we did some official business which made me notice his intellect. Not bookish or genius kind of smarts but more of a practical smart type. Maybe that's what makes him a good leader… Wait, maybe he's smart in a practical way because he's a good leader…?_

 _Whatever._

 _When he told that I'm not his type, it just threw me off. Maybe I've already liked him that time that's why I started treating him like that…_

 _And 'like that' means more disagreeing. I think what I wanted was some sort of attention from him. Oh yeah, he also said that we're not friends._

 _All I wanted was to get closer to him and somehow, he has already built a wall to keep me from moving closer._

 _The fuck is wrong with him?_

She sighed.

 _Well, that doesn't settle my feelings._

 _Hey… it does. I just want to be friends with… him… but that doesn't fucking explain the blushing, mini heart attacks and checking him out. Yeah, I admit it moon! I have been checking him out since he got out of that cat suit. That damn body of his should be wearing better fitting clothes rather than that black onesie. Those are not actions somebody who wants to be friends with do. It's stalker-ish…_

 _Agh…_

 _Geez, do I like him or not?_

 _Geez…. No I cannot afford to have a stupid crush._

 _Well, I love Deidera-nii. If he were alive today, I would've been forward with him but he's in the other world now and that's besides the point. Anyway, with Deidera-nii, I never acted that way around him. With him, I was comfortable with my own skin. Like brother and sister. We could've gotten married but it won't be full of blushing bullshit like what I'm having now._

She jolted when she heard a light knock on her door. A gruff voice called Chiaki's name softly. Yes, it was Takumi and she dreaded his timing. But they had planned the meeting already and it concerns her job. Well, if she had a pet mission, _this mission_ would make it in her top ten list.

She opened her door.

She gasped. "Takumi-san!" She whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"Just checking if I got your room correctly Chiaki-chan." He smiled at her. The man fixed the flowers on her hair.

"What are you doi—"

"Fixing them. Now that's' better." His eyes darted on his right side. It was a signal. "Do you want to get some drinks?"

"Maybe some other time. I'm feeling chilly. I think we should call it a night." Kurotsuchi didn't understand what he was pointing at.

"Kawasaki-san, I told you she will turn me down."

Kawasaki is the name of the couple who were in the room next to hers. _So, Takumi had already established the fact that he and Chiaki had something going on_. _Fuck._

"Ka-wasaki-san?! Which one…?"

The wife, who was eavesdropping on the walls, peeked out of their door and waved at the girl. "Hi Chiaki-san! Can you let the poor boy in? I'm sure he won't do anything silly if he knows I'll be listening on you the whole evening."

She let out a deep breath. "Thank you Kawasaki-san!" Kurotsuchi then took the man's hand and pulled him in her room. Kankuro accidentally bumped her head (or forehead) against his chest. It was a terrible blow. Her vision literally spiraled as she flew downwards.

"Ouch!" The girl had lost her footing, landed flat on her back, hitting her head against the floorboards. Her eyes went black but all of a sudden, she regained her senses and sat up. Or so she thought. Kankuro had helped her up and kept on asking her if she's alright, her name, and his name.

"I'm sorry! Gosh! What's your name? Do you know me?! It's koneko-chan! You're not responding! What's one plus one?"

A smirk, the first one she made for the day, drew on her face. "Hey. I'm fine."

"What's your name?"

"Ueda Chiaki in daylight, Kurotsuchi in the dark." She rubbed her head profusely. She's expecting a bump forming by tonight or in the early morning. It was a bad fall and it was caused by being highly conscious of her red face… no, it was when she held his hand and she felt all the blood in her body concentrating on her face.

"Geez, you could've kept your head straight up." The Sand Nin combed her bangs up and observed her meticulously. _Most likely he was observing her eyes and see if they were doing some weird shaking or what._ "Looks fine. I'll get some ice."

"I don't have ice in my fridge."

Kankuro hurriedly opened the fridge. "Anything frozen would do— now, that's a great hiding place." He took a washcloth and wrapped some frozen item with it and placed it on Kurotsuchi's head.

"What's this? I won't be too happy to place a slab of raw meat on my head." Kurotsuchi felt comforted when the cold material was pushed by Kankuro against her forming bump. He held the cold compress in his right hand and his left hand gently held the top and right side of her head to keep it from moving. Her head moved to rest on his anchored arm, feeling the warmth on her cheek from his arm's inner skin.

"This is terrible, terrible timing." He said to himself.

"At least we're even now." It was an attempt to make him smirk but the male jounin's severe mien didn't change. "It's just a bad fall; all I need is a good night's sleep."

"You slammed against a moving 85 kilogram man." He paused. "Whenever I would accidentally hit Temari, she would have a bad bruise somewhere."

 _Ack he's so…sweet! AND HE FRICKING CALLED HIMSELF KONEKO-CHAN!_

Kurotsuchi straightened her posture and shook her. The man removed his left arm, leaned backwards to let her move as she wants without budging the compress. "Thank you. I'll hold it there from now." She reached for the compress with both of her hands with the sole purpose of physical contact. "Damn, you press hard." The pressure he had placed against her head required too much effort on her part. She's a hard-hitter, that's for sure, but without any chakra? It's obvious that he had more of that.

"Are you still dizzy?" _Hey, Koneko-chan is asking you…_

"A bit." She lied about that bit. All the sensation her head is having was the rush of blood on the spot of trauma. "Let's get down to business. What's in the scroll?" She spoke softly.

The Sand Nin didn't answer yet. First he looked out on her glass sliding doors before closing, locking it, and covering the view with both layers of curtains. Kurotsuchi had forgotten about the possibility of some random person eavesdropping or catching them in a weird moment like arguing about the mission. Actually, she had almost forgotten that she was in a mission and he was supposed to meet this guy to discuss its status.

"The rooms are not a hundred percent sound-proof." He turned his head towards her. He was still wearing the coat and scarf. "We'd better play some music or turn on the television."

 _Whatever you say, you'll still sound like a purring kitten, Koneko-chan!_

"Too cautious." She crawled to reach for the TV remote from the TV's stand.

"It's because you're too reckless." He answered back.

Kurotsuchi turned it on and switched the channel to a documentary. It featured wild cats in the Sahara.

 _There are so many cats in the world but I have the best neko the world can offer! YAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!_

"Really? That's not something boyfriends and girlfriends would watch together."

 _Well, if you're a kitten it would be perfect, dumbass!_

"We are not boyfriend-girlfriend." She scowled.

"But Chiaki and Takumi have something going on." Kankuro positioned himself against the wall by the balcony. "Comedy _would_ be good for starters."

"Family Guy?"

"That will do. Takumi is supposed to be this fun guy after all." Kankuro reached for the envelope he had tucked inside his coat and threw it towards the TV. "Shino told Sai that I should go to the Chinese restaurant and get these photos."

"Shino and Atsui are part of my team, they should have handed the photos to me." She complained.

"I made Sai tell Shino and Atsui that to make it look natural, I'll get the document from Atsui. An interested journalist getting a document from a restaurant staff would be credulous. Tell me, how you were planning on getting it."

"Meet Atsui in the kitchen or something."

"Too sloppy. We don't know who's watching who at the moment. Don't worry; next time, I will not interfere your team's operations."

"Yeah, I get it. You're the man here." She told herself. "What do we have?"

"Solid leads." Kankuro smirked. "Our targets is a group of registered ninjas here in the Land… We still don't know what name or bloc they call themselves but one thing's for sure — they are a faction within the ninjas in Yukigakure. It looks like that this group is strongly influenced by an idealistic son of the country's Daimyo, who goes by the alias Yuki. This guy here wanted to use some of the experiments of these mad scientists against the Union and takeover the Five Great Villages. "

Atsui's package contained photos of this Yuki guy. He was in his late teens, had light blue hair and green eyes. The photo was taken in the night of the celebration of the Second Eve of the Festival. She didn't like how the said noble carried himself. The way he dressed was too much even as a son of a Daimyo, his haughty and narcissistic expression graced all snapshots of him.

"He's a kid."

"Roughly the same age when we went to war about four years ago." Kankuro commented. "Kid or not, this guy has some psychotic tendencies. He knew that the medical ninjas in Yukigakure have been doing thousands of experiments right under their noses. It wasn't until last year that he fooled them into making a weapon of mass destruction to attach the Union."

"The Rotator Virus."

"Exactly. Using the monsoon and the festival is planned out by some smart genius called Fukui. Are you ready for the worse stuff?"

"Blurt it." The cold compress turned lukewarm. When she removed it, she was surprised to see one of her scrolls.

"The way you hid it was genius."

"Covering it in ice?"

"Yes. Maybe I should try it back home."

"You're not married. Who in their right mind would marry you anyway?" She leered. "You don't have any reason in hiding things like that."

"My brother."

"The Kazekage shares the Kazekage household with you?"

"What's wrong with it? We're sons of the previous Kazekage and he's unmarried. I'm the only family he's got in the village. By the way, I still have some good news in the bag. Maybe you wanna hear it first or…no?"

"Give me the bad first."

"Sai snooped that the normal guys from Yukigakure are anticipating the renegades to attack this wave of tourists."

"Their assumption is wrong. They have been attacking our country for a month now." Kurotsuchi snapped.

"I think there's a chance it is correct." He took a pause to sort out his thoughts. It was as if he had his argument in his trail of thoughts but lost it while he was about to form it into words. Unease visited him for a bit. "Yuki's group is smart enough to use the wind patterns to launch an attack to your country. That means they're also capable of implementing two viral outbreaks at the same time. With this number of tourists in the White City, it's the perfect time and place to spread the virus."

"So we got the information, what are we supposed to do now?" In all honesty, Kurotsuchi was starting to get bored in the mission. Information gathering, disguises, eavesdropping, passing messages is not her thing. She wants brawl, fights, spilling blood and direct confrontations. Being part of the planning made her a bit too restless. If she's gonna plan, she'd rather strike the soonest and go home.

"We'll get there. Yuki is easy to track. We cannot kill him because it is a politically sensitive matter. Our mission's priority is to find Fukui. So far, the men who had went on ahead had some considerable clues which I'll be discussing later. Anyway, before we continue, the good news I was talking of was that the Union had found a way to slow down the symptoms. Since we left your country, nobody had died."

The dark-haired girl's mouth dropped. "Really?! One problem removed. No… they just bought us more time."

"Precisely." Kankuro stretched his legs. "To be honest, we took too long to infiltrate this country properly. My team had been in-charge of getting info out of the Yuki-nin but the best they could extract was about this mission they are having. Your team is in pursuit of this Yuki person and got these photos as a result."

"They have been here for four days and that's all they got?" She snapped at him.

"At least they got something and we have bought ourselves some time with the good news I told you. Since we're in a tight spot, we're all going to extract all information we can in any means possible. I have already told my team to work independently for now. Sai C and Haku told me that they're unto something tomorrow. As for the details, they did not tell me anything yet. "

She nodded. "Then, I'll get updates from Shino after this. By the way, do we really have to join this arduous touring schedule?"

"Of course, we have to go. We're people who are supposed to _love_ travelling." He pressed the bridged of his nose. For some reason, his jaws tensed up. Kurotsuchi couldn't help but notice that he well-defined masculine features. His strong jaws, bony nose, dark eyes went together too well. By that time, all her cells had agreed that if she would choose between the Sand brothers (based on physical attributes), she'll definitely go with the older one. The paint distracted her from noticing it earlier; she liked the way he looks. It was the kind of face that women won't get tired of; she thought, even if he becomes a middle-aged man, with his sharp look and dynamic personality, he would still be attractive.

"So we can't sneak out tomorrow?"

"A yes and a no." Kankuro stretched his neck towards his right and then, to his left. It looked like he was getting stiff from his overly relaxed position. He slouched and crossed his legs afterwards. "We need to sneak out during breaks or whenever reason calls for it but we can't yet. That's why we have to pull off this flirting thing."

"What about Yagami?" Kurotsuchi said in defense.

"Darling, Yagami already had established that he's an anti-social weirdo in the group. If he disappears during the tour, nobody would notice it. Also, he has a pretty handy ability for that. He's not something we should worry about because he can take care of himself."

 _Did he call me darling? Koneko-chan… you're driving me nuts… Wait, I haven't decided if I like him or not._

"Tomorrow, our tour schedule is just visiting this city's good spots. I think that's the perfect way to start."

He nodded while grinning.

"Then, the day after tomorrow, we'll be visiting…" She gasped. "The Daimyo's compound."

"See? There's no need to hurry up." Kankuro stood up and rubbed his hands against each other. He walked past her casually, unaware that her eyes were unconsciously following him. "By the way, I'll leave this here. Tomorrow morning, return it to me." He handed his scarf which she pulled from his hand.

"Good night." She told him awkwardly. The atmosphere was terrible; Kurotsuchi knew that it was her doing. He acted naturally, as always, but she noticed that he grew detached. They had more opportunities to talk but the probability of improving the amity between them was diminished.

 _He's not interested._

As he opened her door, he turned around to catch her eyes. She looked away. Upon realizing that she made a silly mistake a millisecond later, she returned his curious gaze.

"Are you sure you're alright? You've been spacing out."

"Don't worry. It's just… the… the weather's making me feel groggy."

A warn beam left his face before stepping out and shutting her door.

Kurotsuchi threw herself on the bed and winced when her head bounced against the fluffy pillow. Focusing her eyes on the murky space above her, she had one of the worst internal dialogues she had ever made inside her head.

 _It all boils down to this Kurotsuchi, the future Tsuchikage: what are you feeling towards him?_

 _He's hot… NONONO! Not exactly. Wait, he's good-looking. Yes, it's a fact. Not affected. Haha. If I ask them flirty bitches, bar hostesses and whores, they're gonna flock over him. So it's normal. Yes, he's handsome, not cute, but with that sordid ego, no way. Na. Na. Terrible fucking ego plus a warty temper. Beyond that sultry exterior, he's nothing much…_

 _(Don't you fucking deny that you fucking melted when he went all lovey-dovey when you slammed your head on the floor!)_

She screamed, which sounded almost like a shriek when one of her inner voices said that.

 _Don't screw with me! Look! He became like that because he felt fucking guilty bitch! He's just acting nice. If it were somebody, he'd probably do the same thing and I won't react the same way anyway._

 _Yes… accept the fact. You would not have reacted in the same way if it was somebody else._

 _So Kurotsuchi's final answer is a yes…._

 _I do like him and it isn't some corny, teen crush that will go away as soon as I see somebody better._

* * *

Was Kurotsuchi's admission a bit rushed?

I think so too, but stuff like this happen. LOL. Whatevs, melodramatic R Cleaver. Anyway, for those who are still reading I can't thank you enough. :)


	8. Breadcrumbs

Hi all! How are you finding **The Black Ones?**

FYI, the story will not really focus on the mission itself but the details would still be narrated or discussed in dialogue.

I'll be apologizing in advance for those who would want more mission/fight scenes because if I dwell on that, the story might end up being too long and I'm afraid that I might not finish it. Because of school and work, I'm having some trouble with finding time to write, edit, review, edit, and review but I assure you guys that I'll post chapters with at least 3k words.

The next chapters (Chapter 11 and onwards) would take a while before I can post them regularly. So while I'm writing, I'm hoping (praying) that there would be some interest on this fanfic of mine.

By the way, for those curious, this is not my first time writing fanfiction but it is my first time positing it on . I've written some fics before but it's not an anime/manga fic but an album fic (hehehe) but due to my pathetic attention span, it was scrapped. From then on, all my fanfic pursuits were put on hiatus until now… when I started working.

For those wondering why, well, I've got really strict parents who monitor me with whatever I'm doing in my room. If they caught me doing something "nonsensical" like reading manga, watching anime, or writing a fic rather than studying during the late afternoon or early evenings, it's freaking hell on earth. So I got used to the idea of limiting my writing during the wee hours of the night or when my parents are out of the house. Even though I'm in university, I still live with them (because our house is so near my uni… weep weep) and that means I can't really write too freely. So when got my current office job, I get to write all I want!

…after I finish my work….

And that is the high-pressured life of R Cleaver.

Bow.

I rambled too much.

For those who are planning to read this until the end…. I love you so much!

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Breadcrumbs**

Three full days have passed since 'the tourists' have arrived in the White City, the Land of Snow. The wooden, traditional clock displayed that it was 4 o'clock in the afternoon. It was exactly the same time when he had first entered the room he had been sleeping in. The color scheme, furniture and air was foreign to him but when he lain on the twin-sized bed, his body and mind was filled with relief.

His mind drifted away from all its current occupations too easily; everything about the mission, his duties as a jounin, Gaara's affliction and Samui. In the twenty-three years that he had been living, there was no point in his life when he had experienced fatigue to the point of dwindling dedication.

Kankuro didn't want to sabotage the mission, quit his duties as a jounin, give up on Gaara's viral infection (he was significantly much better when he left the Iwagakure), or lose hope on Samui. He was plain tired and the past three days didn't help him.

From any impartial commander's perspective, their progress has been improving. His team had been doing most of the hardcore intelligence gathering. Sai, C and Haku had performances in the city and nearby towns. In a week's worth of snooping, they had found out an approximate location to where Fukui and the mad medical ninjas were based at. It was a strong lead but not enough to mobilize Kurotsuchi's team yet. If the specifics ended there, Kankuro would not have felt the weight on his shoulders but it didn't; Shino tipped him and Kurotsuchi just this morning that the Yuki-nin have already suspected a movement from the Union because word about the emergency meeting in the Land of Iron has reached them. The Aburame reiterated that it was _not_ on black and white however, if Yukigakure was already thinking along those lines, then it won't be long until somebody would be apprehensive of them. The jounin was comfortable with the pace that they were at nonetheless, reason calls for them to hurry up. Kankuro had wanted to finish everything in two weeks. As they had hit the 7th day mark and with their current progress, it is possible that they would wrap things up in another week's time only if things go their way.

As he sorted all the information about the mission, Kankuro had started to ponder about the other three things that were tiring him: his duties as a jounin, his brother's illness and Samui (for the nth time).

Being a shinobi was something that he didn't actually choose but he accepted it as part of his fate. As one of the spawns of the Fourth Kazekage, it was expected of him to be a strong shinobi. He didn't exactly live up to the standards their elders had on him as a short-ranged fighter. They became lukewarm towards him when he derailed from their plans. Being a Puppet Master was an honor for any ninja in Sunagakure because it shows not only superb chakra control but also wit, grace and creativity. Kankuro was interested in designs, mechanisms and intricate details, not just pounding against people. His skill was not noted until he had mastered many of Sasori;s puppets. It wasn't his fault exactly. Their lack of interest in him and even their sister was because of the attention Gaara got and he's getting now. He had inherited the best traits that both their parents had. Out of the three children, only Gaara had bequeathed their famly's bloodline limit. Kankuro had magnet release but it was not as strong as his younger brother's. They never pressed the issue on him, but he knew that he was the least liked child of Rasa. As time passed, he proved himself to be as useful as his other siblings in less flashier means. His actions weren't antagonistic towards them. With Temari, they had a bit of a sibling rivalry especially with their accomplishments as jounins. Although, Temari conceded to him when she turned eighteen saying that taking missions is not exactly her thing anymore. The girl loved peace and being an ambassador suits her too well. IN addition, he never felt any envy towards his younger brother. As a matter of fact, the fear and spite Kankuro had harbored against him during the first fourteen years of his life was easily replaced by love, care and respect as soon as the youngest Kazekage clan's spawn had made a turnaround. Now, his duty as a jounin revolved around protecting his brother and the village he has grown to love.

But lately, it had been feeling bland for him. Taking S-class missions had been a routine for him. Both the danger and accomplishment had not boiled his blood recently... and it is bothering him. Maybe he needed a break, or maybe he needed to settle down but either of those has grazed his mind until Gaara had coaxed him into it. The former was plausible. In fact after this double-S class mission, he would go to Kumogakure…as easy as that.

If life could get any easier.

He wasn't sure anymore if he would risk going to Kumogakure. It has been engraved on his mind that Samui had cut him off. Period. Anything beyond that would make him too desperate. Or he is willingly being desperate. Anyway, it was too early for him to plan his vacation since Gaara was not healthy. Once Gaara has healed, then he shall depart for Kumogakure…

But another matter is driving him mad from going to his romantic engagement.

Kurotsuchi.

He was not attracted to her but he knows that the romantic charade is affecting her. Whenever he visits her in her room, they go out for scouting or when they pick-up mission related items, his co-team leader is acting like girl in the academy with a crush on somebody. And it was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

If he is faced with a different circumstance that is an alternate reality where he didn't meet Samui the way he had met her in his current life, Kankuro will properly ask the crushing Iwagakure girl out after the mission and see if it works. He wasn't attracted to her like he was with Samui but he didn't find her too bad for his tastes. If he would evaluate her with his highly critical eye, he would find her quite beautiful and desirable even. But if he is considering to be involved with her, then she would be relegated to the level of those girls whom he [admittedly] toyed with… and he didn't want to do that. He respected her as a colleague and he hopes their relationship would remain as that.

But there was one thing he did not understand; if she's not his type and not attracted to her, why does he feel some odd spark whenever there's contact? Seeing her lightens him up albeit it entailed a lot of screaming, cussing and hating. They're as tensed as the ninja world could allow and he's blaming himself for it because the warning was not enough. Imposing her to stay away from him romantically backfired; he realized that the little stage play made him understand that he is screwed.

Very.

Clearing the matter during the mission would destroy the balance that is already hanging on the edge of the knife. For now, it was sensible to remain civil with her, he thought.

By six o'clock PM, Kankuro in the guise of Takumi will pick up Chiaki. They would be watching a cultural show where Sai, C and Haku would be appearing. Since the venue was forty five minutes away from the inn, the two of them have a strong alibi. Upon arrival in the other end of the city, the pair would check in a love hotel an hour before the show and would return there after watching. Kankuro would change in the rented room and sneak to their rendezvous point. Yagami, who has been out since the end of the tour would regroup with them after the show. From there, Kankuro's team, except Haku, will tail the man whom they have suspected as Fukui. He will be watching the show that evening and it was too good a chance to be careful about. While Kankuro's team is tracking Fukui, Kurotsuchi would sneak out and head into Shino and Ao's apartment. If well executed, everybody would not leave any breadcrumbs.

When his head felt lighter, Kankuro decided to take another warm shower to keep him from freezing to death. He dressed up as soon as he got out of the shower. He put on a mesh tank top, a loose, dark gray sweater, leather pants, and a pair of combat boots. The sealed scrolls containing all his ninja equipment are tucked safely inside the green trench coat he has modified specifically for the mission. Before leaving his room, he checked if everything is in place. His discerning eye felt satisfied with how he left his room; messy and artsy like a writer would. Comic books, travel magazines and newspapers were scattered on the floor. A laptop was clumsily placed on the table with a flask beside it. The sheets of the bed were not in place. The real Kankuro never left his house with any level of mess. Though it annoys him, he had to leave it that way because of his cover.

When he went to the second floor he saw Hitomi and Ririko, a pair of office workers who are on a holiday, who smiled at him and scurried away as they passed him by. Ririko, the younger one who had brown hair and blue eyes, commented immediately by how great Takumi looked. It was expected of them since they have been trying to get closer to him since they were onboard the ship but he couldn't help but sigh at their ramblings. They have mistaken him as the cool, happy-go-lucky, boy-next-door even if he's a stressed-out, arrogant, hot-blooded terrorist killer.

Kurotsuchi's room was on the far-end of his right. He didn't know how the heck rumors could evolve from him visiting her in her room to them having wild nights. It was good for their mission's cover because their pretense is accepted by those around them…

Kankuro wanted to focus on _the good side._ The bad side to it, though was something more personal. The way he sees Kurotsuchi and vice versa is being botched by the cover and their actual thoughts on each other. Now, they are too tensed around each other. Much worse when they were in the Land of Earth. If Kankuro would choose which chapter of their acquaintanceship or friendship is his favorite, he would choose the time in the Land of Iron. Everything was normal then. Everything until people started noticing things, even Gaara.

"I guess it'd be good to drop the love hotel and just check in a normal one for starters." He whispered to himself before preparing himself to knock on the doorway he had frequented since the first night in the country.

 _Kurotsuchi is just Kurotsuchi and nothing more._

He repeated the phrase again and again while he was softly knocking.

He took a step back before she could see him fully to avoid any clumsy contact with her like that time when she hit her head on the floor. The girl looked a bit angry. Most likely, it was because of Kankuro's decision to change their respective team's roles.

"What's with the long face?" He said in Takumi's style.

"Close the door, Takumi-san…" She retreated in the living area of the larger room the inn could offer.

Kankuro remained standing on near the entrance as he watched her close the curtains of the glass, sliding panels. Since the second day, Kurotsuchi had been the one doing the cautious stuff.

"Why are you pissed?" He asked, this time, in his real tone.

"You, of all people, should know why." She snapped back at him.

"All I did was change our tasks for the mean time. If your team pursues Fukui there's a risk that your cover might be blown and that is something I don't want to happen. You and Haku have the best chance of winning an all-out battle with the ace. We can't be laying all our cards just yet."

"You did it on a whim. You didn't ask me, you just told me last night that you've already informed Sai and Shino about the shuffle. I'm supposed to be a team leader too. Why do you have to decide things on your own without asking me? I know what to do. A pursuit mission is just some shitty task that any jounin or even a chuunin can do. I don't know why the fuck you're overreacting about it—"

" _Just a pursuit_ , Kurotsuchi?" He fumed rage. "A mistake in this _shitty_ pursuit could spell K-O for hundreds or even thousands of patients who happen to be concentrated in your country. I know you're pissed that I've been doing all the legwork for now, but please understand where I am coming from. We cannot lay down all our cards in this stage yet."

"Whatever. As if I have a say on things…" Kurotsuchi rolled her eyes on his and locked herself in the bedroom. She immediately opened the door again. "You arrived a bit early and I don't feel like talking to you any longer. Just mind your own business before we get done with this shit." She brashly told him.

"Geez, Kurotsuchi, there's no need abhor me if you don't like the way I do things." He felt tired explaining himself to her. Actually, he didn't know he felt like explaining himself because she's mad. A lot of times, he would have disagreements with his subordinates but he was never compelled to explain his reasoning to them, because at the end of the day, he's sure that it is mission accomplished.

All he could do is to shake his head while wallowing in his level one misery.

An impatient Kurotsuchi slamming the coffee table woke the Sand Jounin. Her face was rid of its apparent displeasure but her actions spoke otherwise. The expensive outfit she wore signaled that she was ready to leave for the performance in the Ice Theater.

"What time is it?"

"It's six in the evening." She said abruptly.

"We should…" Kankuro stretched his arms in the air and never felt as strained in a long time. "Damn… this couch of yours stiffened my neck."

"It's not my fault that you slept with your neck pressed like that."

"Anyway, are you ready to leave?"

When his eyes found Kurotsuchi, her arms were crossed in front of her and she was standing on one leg. It was similar to how Temari looks before she would give him an uppercut.

"I've been waiting for ages." She mumbled.

Kankuro didn't get what he had grumbled about. "Huh?"

"Nothing. Let's go."

Kankuro stood up and followed her as she exited the room. He checked the doors thrice if they were locked and heard a restrained laugh from his companion.

"Were you laughing?"

Kurotsuchi's smirk was uncovered. "Yes, I was."

"There's nothing wrong with checking if the door's locked."

"The second time is okay, but a third? Only control freaks do that."

"Gosh you sound like my sister."

"And you act like my father."

"Your dad checks doors too? I guess I'm not a rare breed after all."

"Both of you are quite rare." She smiled. "Since not everybody in this world are obsessive-compulsive maniacs."

"Chiaki-chan, I'm not sick."

"Most insane people say that." Kurotsuchi's eyes caught a glimpse of Ririko sitting on one couch in the inn's lobby. She grabbed the man's left arm with both of her hands. "Camera's on."

Kankuro nodded and walked ahead of her.

"Chiaki-chan…?" The brunette girl asked her. The two girls who had the hots for Takumi had never seen them acting as lovers because they were always assigned in a different batch whenever they go out. The Sand Ninja had never seen such a contorted facial expression from a jealous woman in his entire life.

"Hi Ririko." She waved with her left hand and kept her right one coiled around Kankuro's arm.

She cleared her throat and approached them. "Where are you off to in the evening?"

"Takumi?" A decent woman would always ask permission from the man and 'Chiaki' did that very numbing deed that would inflate any man's ego.

"Chiaki and I are… having a date."

"Chiaki? A DATE?!" Ririko was shocked by the sudden drop of honorifics. Takumi usually addressed all single girls with a 'chan' after their names and when he didn't do it this time to address Chiaki, she was infuriated.

"Yes. Chiaki-chan is Chiaki to me and we _are going out_ on a _date._ " He gave a smile.

"Is… that so?" She said weakly.

"Yes, Ririko-chan. Ah, by the way, if somebody else asks where we went please keep quiet about it. We might not return until the morning after."

"Huh?!"

"Thank you!"

Kankuro started to walk towards the inn's exit and felt Kurotsuchi restraining a hysterical laugh.

"Was I that bad to her?"

"Very." Kurotsuchi sighed. "She's a good person and I could tell that she really liked you."

"Takumi doesn't like her." He said flatly.

"No, that's not what I meant. Do you have to conceal the fact we're 'watching a show?'"

"Yes." Kankuro whispered in her ears gently. "What if she's a spy?"

"Cautious…"

"Risky…"

Moments later, a cab stopped in front of them and drove them to the Ice Theater. The pair didn't talk much during the ride but to keep their act believable, Kankuro made Kurotsuchi lean on his left shoulder. She glared at him upon understanding his suggestion but she acquiesced.

Kankuro replayed how the mission would proceed. As soon as they arrive in the theater's area, Chiaki would mingle with some of the attendees in the pre-show VIP cocktails since she was a daughter of an important investor in the Land of Earth. Fukui would not arrive at the place yet but Kurotsuchi would have to keep an eye of the Yuki-nin who might spot Kankuro, Sai, C, and Haku. While she's at the social event, Takumi will reserve a love hotel which will be integral to tonight's excursion. Takumi will return to the venue but he won't meet with Chiaki yet; he will arrange for one of the performers (most likely it will be C because Sai and Haku finds the act too cheesy) to perform 'a little' to Chiaki after the performance. It would be a way to deliver whatever item they could get from Fukui to assist them in tracking. After that, they would have to head to the hotel and sneak in the night.

Even if anything would go wrong, each step is as mutually exclusive as it could get. Every stage that Kankuro had planned would remain as a separate, standalone activity that will not affect any other phase of the pursuing Fukui scheme.

When he returned to his senses, Kankuro had expected them to be in the city's center but when he checked the time, only ten minutes had passed. Kurotsuchi had diligently did as he said and had at least one part of her body in contact with his. That instance, her back was leaning on his left side with her head leaning on his left shoulder. Her legs were sprawled on the backseat's free space. For some reason, he didn't like how high her dress was riding on her thighs.

"Chiaki, your skirt is moving up. Pull it down." Just a peek on it showed a generous view on how well shaped her legs were. It was a familiar sight to him and to any other ninjas she had worked with but all of them never paid attention to her legs. But that one peek is tempting him to steal another, or worse; stare at the steamy sight…

And his self-control is not yet ready to lose against his earthly weakness.

"I'm wearing stockings." She said without moving.

"They're not as opaque as the others. Pull it down or I'll do it myself."

"Nobody's seeing anything."

 _I am seeing it. Don't make me see it. Times like this makes me want to reconsider Sasori's madness. It would be convenient to have a mechanical body._

She muffled as she moved her legs and placed them against the vehicle's footing. His reason celebrated all of a sudden… he didn't have any time to cater to the calling of his flesh. Much less around his associate.

 _It's just the weather Kankuro… Just the weather._

But he realized his subconscious needs had already worked its way through when he told her to maintain physical contact for the whole trip. He swallowed the excess saliva his mouth had produced since he accidentally glanced on her upper thighs. The odds are not in his favor that evening.

 _This is going to be a very long ride…_


	9. Error

**Chapter 9: Error**

 _God, what have I been doing?_

Kurotsuchi quietly observed everyone who passed in front of her. She has not finished one glass of Stinger yet she's already feeling dizzy. It was not because of the alcohol, she could hold her liquor quite well, but it was due to the cold and her misadventures in the cab.

She had not gotten enough of the usual arm hugging, head patting and head resting Chiaki and Takumi had been doing since day one in White City. Those petty gestures and flirting made her awake at night and imagine all sorts of things with him happening but stopped herself from going too far because whatever she fantasizes about never comes true and all she wants this time is for her allure towards him to become something else. So in the cab, all hell broke loose; she made him her pillow for half an hour. Her justification, if ever he asks anytime soon, was that it was fucking cold and she needed a way to keep herself from freezing. It was just part of the reason though. She wants reciprocation even if she had to seduce him which is completely out of her way, unthinkable in her vocabulary and too crazy to do especially with her highly controlled romantic history.

As she had watched some dignitaries chat about crap, smoke and farts for an hour, she had identified four people who could be ninjas. It was evident with the way they circle around the place, ask awkward question to almost everyone and give each other coded gestures. Kurotsuchi didn't need to evaluate any further; she is not a stupid genin who would make a mistake as silly as that.

Soon the show would start. Chiaki would have to head to her seat alone before Takumi would apologize for his tardiness. Many men, both old and young, had tried to hit on her since she was alone even though she tried looking as happy as she could. When she headed to the restroom she saw how gloomy looking she was. Her eyes were a bit red from the humidity but everything else was normal; except that her face looked somber. She checked if her clothes looked alright. Well, she looked too well dressed to watch a theater show. The burgundy, tube dress clung to well on her body which coordinated too well with the off black stockings she had on and the ankle-length, black velvet boots.

She wondered how Kankuro could ignore her when she looked like that. Her smooth, fair skin glowed against her dark hair and dark clothes she had on. It was something most men won't ignore, especially that her pink eyes is a rarity. The girl concluded that by most standards, she's quite enthralling but it was not enough for the huge Sand Ninja to succumb to.

Chiaki evaluated herself one more time and took the black, fur coat in one hand. She unassumingly, greeted everyone who passed by her as she tumbled her way in the modern theater to find her seat number. It was part of their ploy that she would buy Takumi a seat next to her two days before the event to make it appear that it was her money who allowed the writer to get a seat in the VIP area. She composed herself as she pretended to wait for the show to start while ignoring the guy with pale blonde hair and hazel eyes who has stared at her in awe. He was around her age and seemed like a son of a local dignitary. His casual clothes screamed that he was not a political figure, but most likely, somebody in the art industry.

"Excuse, miss, are you by chance, alone?" He asked nervously.

"No." She said politely. "I'm waiting for my boyfriend."

"ACK! Strike!" He said to himself. "Sorry, I was already trying to hit on you. I should've known that a good-looking girl like you _would not_ be single." He shook his head in disappointment.

"It's nothing really." Chiaki said. Well, she'll be the happiest girl in the world if all bits of what the man said is true but it isn't; she was not exactly a hot girl like people perceive her to be and she was as single as any chaste girl could get.

She pretended to get something from her bag, when in reality, she was just checking if there were bugs in it.

 _So no word from Shino. Looks like my visit shall continue._

As she closed her bag, she felt a warm sensation covering her eyes. It could only be Kankuro. Her heart started to beat faster as she tried to remove his hands on her face,

"Kkkk-Takumi!" She exclaimed as she wrestled with his hands' grip.

He removed his hands from her face and jumped on the seat like a wacko would do. Before she could notice, people were staring at him in disgust.

"Did you miss me?" He said with a very naughty, suggestive smile. Kankuro was at the row of seats behind her, he jumped over from where he was and took the empty seat behind Kurotsuchi.

She lightly elbowed him on his sides. "You cheeky… cat."

"I was gone for a bit and look at the attention you were having. It broke my heart, 'Snowdrop'."

"Sn-snowdrop?!"

"You called me cat, so I'll call you 'snowdrop'." He brushed his head against Kurotsuchi's shoulders and placed his right arm on the chair's rail.

 _Damn this PDA is killing me! Why can't the real Kankuro do this to the real Kurotsuhi!_

"It would be nice if you were like that all the time." Chiaki said to herself. Although, she didn't know that Kankuro heard her crystal clear.

The show was a classic Noh play entitled Aoi no Ue (Lady Aoi) which Kurotsuchi never heard of. Kankuro, who was obviously an enthusiast of traditional plays had told her that it should not be the first Noh play anybody should watch because it was heavy. She was looking forward to how it would be because it was one of the things that interested Kankuro and it was one way to learn about him.

She was afraid though that her interest in Noh might be forced all because of her budding infatuation; Kurotsuchi didn't like becoming somebody like that. Experiencing first hand before having an opinion about them is _her style_. As the music started playing, her eyes, ears and heart were glued onstage… forgetting about the mission, Kankuro and everything else.

While still in trance during the play, Kurotsuchi was surprised by 'C' — who played Genji Kaoru, in costume when he handed her a bouquet of snowdrops. Not many spectators saw this gesture since they were quite busy in listening to the ongoing interview of Lady Aoi. Nonetheless, the unexpected romantic gesture left her blushing and starting at the white petals in front of her. To snap her out of the daze, Kankuro took one snowdrop and placed it behind her right ear.

"Chiaki? What's wrong?"

"I w-wasn't expecting this."

"You didn't like it?! I thought Genji Kaoru is your favorite character." He lowered his head to catch her eyes but the girl turned sideways to avoid eye contact.

"I did say that but…" _Keep fucking calm Kurotsuchi. Keep fucking calm._ "They're beautiful. Thank you." Her head slumped in front of her but Kankuro's hand or curled index finger, to be precise), stopped her from getting any lower and pushed her chin upwards. He leaned forward — close enough for the tip of his nose to brush against hers.

It was as if he was going to kiss her, Kurotsuchi thought. She closed her eyes and prayed that it would happen but for every millisecond that had passed, she only felt Kankuro's diminishing touch. Kurotsuchi's inner voice suddenly screamed.

 _THAT'S IT?!_

When she opened her eyes, Kankuro was still slowly pulling away. She noticed a few people who were disgusted by what they have seen. The Sand jounin made it appear that they kissed after the romantic stunt.

 _Brilliant._

Every step in the plan was going to well from Kurotsuchi's evaluation. Actually, the relationship was too polished to be an act. If their travesty is made into a movie, both of them would win the best actor and actress awards. She could see from where she was that even behind the Noh mask, C's jaw is dropping down the floor.

 _Looks like I'm going to do a LOT of explaining tonight. Of course, C would rat it out to Sai, who would blabber it to Shino, who would announce it to our team tonight. But there's a chance it won't… Fuck. Wait. Haku would be with us tonight… and he would fucking hear it from C._

 _Meeting would end in ten minutes tops; that's for sure._

 _Who cares anyway? I like him. I fucking want him. I can just imagine having him stashed in my apartment like a pet sin._

 _Unbelievable._

 _Who'd have known that idea would make me so eager to do it in real life._

There was a fine line between deception and obsession. It was an unlikely split yet it was the best description Kurotsuchi could think of at the onset. At that moment, Kurotsuchi was ready and willing to have the whole of herself to be possessed if it weren't for three things: 1.) The mission, 2.) her weakening self-control and 3.) Other priorities.

The mission, after they capture Fukui and stop all the perpetrators, would end immediately there would no reason for her to speak with Kankuro other than greeting him when they pass each other in the hallway once every few months. If the mission could last longer that it would be, Kurotsuchi won't be as disconcerted as she was then.

Trying to be a better friend to Kankuro was posing too much stress on her and time was running out; she thought of already making a move but she can't imagine how Kankuro would react. Knowing him, or based on what she know about the Sand Jounin, he's quite receptive but if you talk or treat him the wrong way, he'll get mad at you and once you get in his black list, it's almost impossible to get out of it. He won't cuss at you every time he sees you but he'll smoothly reject any social situation concerning you. Because of this, she is torn between her pride and her desire. She wanted him and it would take time before anything could happen, and a long patience is not one of her character traits. If she wanted him, it meant now, or else… it would be affecting her mental balance for months. If she fails, it would give her more time to recover.

But, by any chance, Kankuro would accept her feelings, there's no way she can sustain a relationship. The best commitment she can give is a fling because of her Tsuchikage aspirations. Being a shinobi comes first, her family comes in second. Her relationships, personal happiness and loves is not something she wanted to develop or dreamed about.

 _Perhaps what it would be best if I held it in… What's the point of initiating a relationship with him when I settling down is something that I barely considered?_

 _Men want to have children._

 _Heirs._

 _Having any of these never interested me._

 _What if it's his?_

 _Whatever. I'm not making any sense really._

 _You can't fool me though. But I want you to…_

To keep herself from thinking too much of the possibilities, her floating mind returned in its proper place. Sensing that she's back in the Ice Theater but all her eyes could perceive was Kankuro standing, unmoving; like a photograph.

Kurotsuchi wanted to embrace him, to convey her muddled feelings. Taking the first step forced a lot of questions and words on her mind which were immediately forgotten as soon as they were thought out. As he feet landed on the floor, the second and third steps were easily made. To keep herself from hesitating, she closed her eyes as she approached him. She leapt herself forward and embraced the man right in front of her. He was slightly pushed back but he firmly held them in spite of the impact.

It was sloppy but it passed her standards.

"Chiaki?" He uttered as he stroked her hair. Certainly, he was surprised since he let out an inaudible gasp but he did a great job suppressing it.

Kurotsuchi smiled as she let go. "Shall we go?"

The heavens were not kind to Kurotsuchi that evening…or so she believed. She has been cursing herself over and over again as she and Kankuro moved from the Theater to the funkiest love hotel she has ever seen. Since they were surrounded by hundreds of people that night, Takumi had to tell her many random things like the Lady Aoi and stories about that time when he visited the Land of Frost. Kurotsuchi had to throw in a reaction or two every time he says something. After all, they were supposed to be an adventurous pair.

When they arrived right in front of the love hotel called 'Icha Icha', she cringed. She took a step back and was planning to return to wherever she came from and that extends back to her mother's womb, but Kankuro held her waist and gave her glare as if saying: 'You better go in here with me or I'm gonna kill you.'.

 _Rumors about his brother being a stone-cold killer is confirmed. Disovery of another Kekkei Genkai is uncovered on this day of XX of March 20XX. The Insanity Release happens to run in the males of the Kazekage bloodline. Nobody is exempt; even the cat-suit wearing freak._

"Takumi… Is there any other place?"

"There but… I prefer keeping whatever we do tonight a secret between us unless you have that kind of—"

 _Oh dear bananas! He's gonna say fetish._ Kurotsuchi shrieked as she covered his mouth. "DON'T SAY A WORD!"

Kankuro, instantly grasped both of her wrists in one hand, and locked them in his arm. "You're blowing our act. Pretend to apologize to those around us." He whispered quickly. "Chiakli-san, I was gonna say 'unless you have that kind of a preference'."

"Ah… that sounds so much better than what I had in mind!" Chiaki laughed nervously and started to apologize around the people who have heard her yelling.

"Unless you do—"

"I wa-want to…" She buried her on his chest. That time, it was acceptable, she thought. And it was starting to snow again. It seemed like something a girly girl would do around her boyfriend. He held her hand and led her in Icha Icha. "Fuck." She said softly.

"I hate this as much as you're hating it." He said quickly and as soft as he could.

They need not to speak with the concierge since Kankuro already got their keys. They boarded the elevator and Kankuro had pressed the metal button with the number twenty engraved on it. When the shaft opened, Kurotsuchi was expecting to see a corridor or something but her eyes only laid on a single door that made her feel hundred emotions all at the same time. Excitement, fear, anxiety, eagerness, aggressiveness, reluctance, precariousness, curiosity, caution, dominated the mess of her mood. She went out first of the elevator with Kankuro closely following her.

"I've checked the floor earlier and there's not a single camera or microphone in place. Nobody in the establishment would be crazy enough to spy on us because of its hefty price. I've checked the previous customers requesting for this room and most of them are people in position who are having affairs…" Kankuro said. "It's a bit too much for a traveler but you're an Ueda. Of course, the only daughter of a prominent businessman would not do something in public eye that could tarnish her father's reputation especially when she's not in the biz."

"Based on what you said, it _is_ fine to loosen up." Kurotsuchi started stretching her arms carelessly upwards.

"Yes."

After tapping the card and inputting a 4-number pin, the well-secured door opened. It revealed a sleek, modern room with luxurious furniture. Everything was placed perfectly in its proper place. On the left side of the room, a small living area had a minimalist couch right in front of the 50-inch led TV with a glass coffee table placed in between them. Straight from the door, a wide, glass window that stretched from where the living room was to until the door leading to the balcony, revealed the city's night lights against the distant mountain range under the dark, winter sky. Adjacent the balcony's door, the wall separating the bed room from the rest of the suite started.

 _Yes. I just fucking remembered that I'm on a mission and I'm not here on a fuck game._

Kurotsuchi wasn't happy with the huge windows. In fact, she could almost kill Kankuro for bringing her in such a place. She couldn't even imagine how the hell he could think of using a love hotel room as their starting point because the idea itself is something she would want to do and she's uncertain if she can control herself from doing anything stupid that could disrupt the mission or her relations with Kankuro.

"A bare window, genius?"

"That's one way. I checked it." Kankuro said coolly while removing his cloak. "I'll be leaving in ten minutes. What time would you go to Point A?"

Kankuro released three ninja scrolls that had his clothes, accessories, and another set of larger scrolls. Kurotsuchi peeked from the couch's edge and wondered why the hell he would summon his things right there in the middle of the room.

"I can go there earlier." Kurotsuchi dropped her back against the white, leather couch. "Shino and Ao are already there. Doro is a step away. I guess Haku would be on the way there already."

"You didn't set a time?" He said in shock.

"I did. 9:30." She stood up from the couch and crouched right in front of him. "Since you're mister O-C, you're gonna tell me that since it's almost nine, I'd better get going." Staying in her position would cause anybody to be off-balanced and ninjas are not exempt from it. The Iwa Jounin sat with her legs crossed, two feet away from Kankuro.

"I didn't say that." Kankuro said without looking at her a he inspected the summoned puppet with pink hair. "Tomorrow, onwards, I won't bother you or your team anymore. I realize I've been too meddlesome. You have a point…"

Kankuro was also seated in a similar way as her. His back was hunched over his weaponry. The brunette straightened his back, returned the puppet in its scroll, leaned forward and looked her squarely in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

 _Neko-chan, apologizing doesn't really suit you._

"No."

 _And you haven't done anything wrong._

"You're the pro at this. If I led the Fukui team on its own, those men would have lost faith in me since day one."

The puppet master gave a slight smirk. She noticed how tired his eyes were under the fluorescent lighting. The dark circles showed this time because whatever tan he had lightened since they left the Land of Earth. Kurotsuchi did not expect him to be that fair. The Kazekage was much fairer than him by several tones but he had, nonetheless, paler and smoother skin than the average male she imagines. Since his eyes were unfocused, Kurotsuchi did the unthinkable; stare at him.

Observing him that close was unnerving. He was quite sensitive if she does something of the sort while they're not undercover and he had given an ultimatum in the Land of Iron. If she gets caught, she'll lie, as easy as that.

It was one of the longest two seconds in Kurotsuchi's life but it was cut short when his squinting eyes met hers.

He looked away while sighing. "I've already told you that you won't get anything out of me. You're making things harder than they are." He took his things while he stood up. "I'll be changing in the room."

She couldn't say form the words she had wanted to say even if her mind was racing. Every inch he moved away from her was pushing her away from the narrow opening of the open door. It was a chance; not the best one, but a gamble against her favor.

"You're overreacting Kankuro. I've accomplished many undercover missions and I never saw such great acting from a ninja." She said defiantly. "Everybody is believing you. If I am stupid, I would have fallen for you. But I'm not an idiot and I know that whatever you're doing is _not_ one-hundred percent an act; it's either you're just a great swindler or you're attracted to me to some degree." She scoffed after saying it, as if mocking him. She had to make it look that she's not affected by his sudden detachment.

 _Damn it. Why does he keep on pushing me away? I'm not such a bad choice._

 _He did a great job conveying his affections this week. Acting like a pair of young lovers is easy but he had set the bar way up there. He's not really the showy kind of guy and that's what's driving me insane! Nothing is connecting! Where could the tension come from if it doesn't exist? He won't warn me from liking me if he doesn't think that it's a threat to something…_

 _I know men like this._

 _Maybe…_

 _He doesn't want emotional commitment._

"Let's talk about this some other time." He said sternly.

"Sure. We have a tasks ahead of us." Kurotsuchi pouted. "Can you actually head out in a mission with this hanging?"

"I don't let my personal problems interfere with my work."

"Oh. But we're working together. Admit it, it will bother you even if you're a machine." Kurotsuchi stood up and faced Kankuro. Her hard expression soften when she saw the weariness in his eyes albeit alert.

He smiled. "You really are inexperienced. I've gone through missions with heavier things in my head. And I still made it out alive. If it will affect your bearings, then I guess it's high time if I speak out." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I am attracted to you, Kurotsuchi… but I respect you as a colleague and a ninja. I'm not… I don't do commitments, Kurotsuchi. I…"

"Just say what you have to say. I'm not some sensitive, pretty girl who likes romantic bullshit." She lashed out at him. Anger filled her.

 _He would think I'm angry because he is treating me like a generic girl who likes babies but I AM ANGRY because that's the reason why he is pulling away._

 _It's so superficial._

"Then… Scratch that. Truth is, I am attracted to you, physically. I am stopping myself because we're colleagues and I respect you. I don't want to a have a fling with somebody like that for just this mission."

"I _respect you_ as a ninja, and I am attracted to you too but I don't see anything wrong with it." Kurotsuchi said.

He gave a playful smirk. "Well, the cold is already driving me nuts."

Without any warning, he kissed her. Even with her reflexes, she was overwhelmed by the shock that he actually had kissed her, kissed her without any warning, and was kissing her pleasurably. Kurotsuchi could not keep up with the slow yet defined movements of his mouth and tongue. She broke away when she had ran out of breath… but Kankuro trailed light pecks down to the base of her neck as he pushed her against the back of the couch. She sat on the surface and wrapped her legs around him.

She had confirmed that it was the best kiss that she had and it's not even with a boyfriend.

 _What the heck is thing then?_

"What should we call this _thing?"_ She asked.

He continued planting kisses on neck and shoulders playfully sliding his hands on her back. While he groaned to acknowledge that he heard her question, he didn't answer. Moments passed and Kurotsuchi grew impatient from waiting for his answer and the lessening pressure of his contact.

 _So this is how he wants to play this game huh?_

She grabbed a generous amount of his hair and pulled his head up. "I asked you a question neko-chan." She said irascibly. "I expect an answer from you or else you won't get anything from me tonight."

Kankuro smirked at her. "Are you sure you want that?"

"Shut up!" She released her grip afterwards, snaked the same hand around his neck. "We're not exactly dating…"

"We're friends with benefits; it doesn't take a genius to know that."

"You told me we're not friends."

"It's because of the tension and now that it is relieved, we're back to normal."

"You said to me we're not friends but acquaintances."

"Come on, I was playing hard to get with you that time." Kankuro's left hand went down to where her hip was but Kurotsuchi caught and squeezed it.

"You told me you're not my type."

Kankuro eyebrows furrowed. "You complain _a lot_ and I hate that."

"You're blunt and I hate that."

"That's precisely why we can't be lovers. We hate each other's gut and we're not each other's type."

"Personality-wise."

"Agreed. For sure, you are not involved with anybody else… or are you?"

"No. Last fling I had was three years ago. It was just some lame, flirting game. Nothing of this sort. Guy's pretty cute but not my type so I didn't really took him seriously. Don't tell me you're in a relationship?! I want out if you are."

"What the heck is your type?"

"Somebody strong, capable and artsy."

"Vague."

"What do you want to hear? For the record, I'm not into stocky brunettes with a temper."

"You are into blondes?" Kankuro rested his forehead against hers.

"Yes."

He was surprised by the revelation. "Let me guess, pretty blonde guys…"

"A pretty blonde guy. I was in love with a pretty blonde guy…" Kurotsuchi wanted to add that Deidara's an exemption because he's in the afterlife. She still loves him to this day but it was something that she would never realize in her life. "I still am but he's dead. You might know him... He's in Akatsuki…. His name is Deidara."

"Your love had defeated, and captured my brother." Kankuro suddenly nibbled her left earlobe.

" _I_ didn't know that!" Kurotsuchi pushed him away. As she thought, it was hard to wrestle with him. "Besides that was not the Deidara whom I love. It was the man he was; prior to Akatsuki."

"Some story." He stopped biting her. "Sorry."

"I've been babbling. Let me hear yours."

"My last affair ended about five or six months ago. The girl was quite hot. Slept with her whenever I needed it but I when she gave me hints of marriage, I cut her off. Sadly, she was the one of many girls I slept with and tossed away."

"Geez, how many? Damn I might get an STD from you!" She nudged Kankuro's stomach. "I don't even know if you're single!"

"Most of them were virgins. Seventeen out of eighteen are. If you're gonna ask me, you're in good hands. And I'm single right now."

"Oh my God… You lady-killer."

"Well, most girls only care about virginity until they're in their early twenties. If they're still single at a certain age, they become more careless." Kankuro sighed. "Sad thing is, most of these girls who run after me thought that I am a pretty good guy who would marry them and give them kids but I'm not into that… until…."

"Until what?"

"A blonde happened."

"Ah! Let me guess…. First time you ever fell in love." Kurotsuchi sneered at him. "Do I know this blonde?"

Suddenly his eyes went blank. As if the light in it disappeared for a bit and he suddenly returned to his senses. His head rested against her left shoulder. "I think so… she's called Rin (凛)."

"A kunoichi?" She started brushing his hair.

"Yes, from Kumogakure."

"You still love her."

"Yes."

 _Fucking no. I'm gonna kill this bitch. She has scratched neko-chan!_

"Some blondes we met."

"Fucking yes. I hate them. I hate her. I hate all blonde women. Except Temari. Wait, I hate her bloody mouth. I don't hate my mom. I guess that ends the exceptions."

"How queer, I hate blonde men too, neko-chan. Except Naruto… C, Atsui and some of the other blondes I know."

"Of course, Naruto's cool."

"Since we're both hung up on our pasts, I guess this arrangement is something somatic."

"."

"Yeah… not all sex though."

Kankuro smirked this time and continued where they had left off.

After an exchange of sloppy, rough kisses, Kankuro gave one final peck on Kurotsuchi's lips before pulling back. "I'm running late."

The Second Eve of the Festival would happen on the next Sunday; that is, two days away. Not capturing Fukui before Sunday Midnight is Mission Failed and the death of millions. The idea made Kurotsuchi flinch and punch the couch.

Watching the evening news is one of the best ways to learn about the status of the festival. She wondered if Kankuro or Sai also did their research through the TV platform. If they didn't do that, they should learn a thing or two from her.

She stopped changing channels when she saw an infographic presenting this year's all-time high tourist arrivals on-screen.

"Kankuro!"

It a moment for him to answer back. "What?"

"You've got to see this!"

The door opened. "I'm almost done anyw—" Kankuro whistled when the news report had registered in him. "That ruined my day."

"It reminded you that we have a responsibility as heavy as the weight of the world and you're the guy manning the mission."

"We," Kankuro corrected, "It's a team effort. There no me, you, he, she or they in our division, just we. I'll get going."

Kurotsuchi kneeled on the couch to get a better view of Kankuro. "Good luck."

He ruffled her hair. "I'll get going. Ciao."

She watched as Kankuro walked out of the door. As it closed, she had seen him disappear in a split second. Right then and there, Kurotsuchi smiled at herself with the events that had transpired. Any normal, functioning girl would feel like a winner if a guy like Kankuro is hers. She suddenly felt mad with whoever this Rin girl was…

If she was blonde like how Samui from Kumo and Ino from Konoha were, then she understands how a guy like Kankuro would fall head over heels in love with her. He looked hurt, and whatever it is he was harboring, she wanted to know it.

"First Deidara. Now, Kankuro. Unrequited again this time around. Kurotsuchi… You really have bad taste in men."

Leaping on roofs is something the Iwa Jounin loved doing but Kankuro has always reminded her that whenever she sneaks out to meet her team, she has to go incognito. It was too troublesome for her to wait people to walk past her while in the shadows before moving sneakily and stopping again.

That was what she was doing. Eighteen meters from the alley where she was, Shino's window is visible. She changed her appearance as a male version of Kurotsuchi: 5'9, short-cropped hair, lean. It was one way to keep her cover safe. Tonight's gathering would be a fake boy's night out. Well, it won't be fake because there will be booze and games.

She knocked on Shino and Ao's door and was welcomed by Atsui. A bit tipsy but still sane.

"Release." The Kumo kenjutsu user told her.

"Fine. Release." She reverted to her real appearance.

"Yo. Captain's here." Doro announced to the group of men. All of then grinned in different ways possible… except Shino was hidden in his heavy coat.

"Ao-san you're a genius! How did you know she's still gonna come here on time?!" Haku threw a wad of bills in front of the Hunter Ninja.

"Because I know Kankuro is a man with a lot of control." He nodded while smiling as the rest of the shinobi handed their stakes.

"Care to explain?" Kurotsuchi glared at them.

"We have known, Captain. Why is that? The insects have detailed me your actions in the past few days when the two of you are scouting. Your actions and the chemistry have perked my interest so send out my special, sensing bugs. What did I found out? The chemical compositions you emit are only found in mating species. It was an entertaining discovery. How so? —"

"Cut the rhetoric bullshit." She barked at them. "Kankuro and I have nothing going on."

"But C saw them kissing and hugging in the theater earlier."

"That's for cover." Kurotsuchi sat beside Atsui, and Shino around the mess off food and cards.

"Too much for a cover." Doro commented.

"I heard you." The Iwa kunoichi threw a bottle in her arm's reach towards Doro. It flew to where his face was, but the other Iwa ninja crouched down to avoid it, thus crashed on the wall.

"Scary." He told Ao who was seated closest to him.

"Now, let's get down to business." Kurotsuchi cleared her throat and gave the group of men a threatening stare.

"No, Captain-chan. We won't listen to you, unless you hand us the _juicy_ details of you and Kankuro-dono's encounters." Ao said in sarcastic, commanding manner.

"I know how it started…" Atsui raised hand up in the air.

" _We all know_ how it started." Haku sighed.

"People, nothing fucking started. Let's get fucking down to business or I'll beat you all up." She crushed the empty bag of potato chips. Her annoyance was getting her nowhere especially when the men had started arguing about when the talk of the town started.

"I bet on the Land of Snow." Ao declared.

"Ao-san, that was way too early. She started calling her kitty-chan in the Land of Earth." Atsui tapped on the older man's shoulder. "In making women fall in love hopelessly, he's a real jounin in that sense. He could be Kazekage for that matter." He began laughing hysterically.

"You're drunk." The only kunoichi snarled.

"Nobody got what I said." Atsui scoffed. "That guy was good gossip material in Kumo. Frequented somebody there for a certain time."

"Kumo women must be popular. Why is that? A friend of mine whom you might know, called Choji of the Akimichi clan, took a woman from the village hidden in the clouds and made her a lady in his house." Shino nodded. "But that is far from the point which is the situation that have escalated in this mission involving two, important ninjas from Iwagakure and Sunagakure. How will it end? I wonder how. Research shows that long distance love affairs do not last unle—"

A punch passed through the bug clone that have dispersed in front of Doro's face (who was seated on Shino's right side). He screamed and shook off some of the bugs that landed on him.

"NO CREEPY CRAWLIES! MOMMY!" Doro started to run around the place hysterically.

"You might drop some on us." Haku warned sweetly.

"I don't care!" The Iwa shinobi shook his red hair profusely. When he realized that the bugs have all disappeared, he scanned that place

"Unless they get married in the first three years of their relationship." His voice continued but it started to come from the room's entrance. The Aburame returned to his original position, puzzling even more the presently, traumatized Doro.

"Sssssssstay away from me!" Doro made odd hand positions in front of Shino. "I said no bug thingies outside of the mission.

"Apologies. The captain might have killed me with that heavy blow." He said.

"Everyone, let's give Kurotsuchi a break." Haku clapped to get the delirious men.

"Thank you Haku!" She gave the beautiful ice user a thumbs up.

"You're welcome. Let's hear what you have to say, once and for all, about Kankuro." He smiled at her and got a middle finger afterwards.

"This is the last fucking time. I'll be killing each and every one of you if you don't stop teasing me. Shit like that can be about later. We have a mission tomorrow and we should get down to business." Her teammates' eyes were intently eyeing at her. "Very well, our agenda for tonight is to observe Kankuro's team through Ao's byakugan and Shino's bugs, review our plan for tomorrow's skirmish and what is happening between me and Kankuro."

 _Fuck, looks like I can't get out of their nosiness easily._

6000-ish words.

I did not expect this to become this long.

Lately, I've encountered a lot of stress in work and school. I've been reviewing a lot of equations and all that crap which I don't really understand so I channel all the negative juices in this fic.

Finally, KanKuro has reached the friends and benefits stage. In this fic, it would be much more than that and I'm excited to write how things would progress from here on.

Please review or fave or whatever!


	10. Her Parents

**Chapter 10: Her Parents**

When Kurotsuchi was born into the world, the whole Kamizuru clan was overjoyed. Kitsuchi and Keiko's daughter became the only girl who descended from Onoki. That was just one factor that made them too happy. In reality, the reason was that she looked much like her mother who was regarded as the most beautiful Iwa Kunoichi of their time. It took the couple a while to conceive. After two miscarriages, Keiko lost hope until she found out that she was three months pregnant when she was 36 years old.

Carrying a child at that age required a lot of rest and attention from Keiko, Kitsuchi, doctors and the rest of their family. On her 39th week, a baby girl was born. Her name, Kurotsuchi, was of Kitsuchi's choosing. Keiko, at first, didn't like such a dark name but due to customs, they had to name their children with the 'tsuchi' pattern.

The third Tsuchikage had gotten tired and sick of playing with and eventually, training his grandsons into their extensive Earth, Boil and Lava Releases techniques. When Kurotsuchi started to walk, he had already conveyed his interest in training the young beauty. Kitsuchi was too honored by his father's attention but Keiko, who had preferred raising her daughter in the Odori-style (踊り) taijutsu she mastered, could only acquiesce to her husband and father-in-law.

It did not take long for Kurotsuchi's talent to surface. At ten years old, Kurotsuchi mastered Earth jutsus and began learning lava based techniques. She became a chuunin right after graduating from the Academy at age 12 and five years later, had become a jounin.

A mother could not be prouder, Keiko thought, if only she did not act like a tomboy 99% of the time, wasn't as stubborn as her father, tactless and ruthless as her grandfather. Her looks were put to a waste. She did not have a decent boyfriend even at seventeen, excluding Deidara who had left Iwagakure and her daughter, in pursuit of his ideals; Kurotsuchi was never romanced yet she's completely fine with it. The kunoichi who labelled as the 'Beauty of Iwagakure' did not expect her daughter to grow into a woman who prefers power over love.

After the Fourth Shinobi War, she had tried to coax Kitsuchi into allowing Kurotsuchi to live on her own. She would never forget how he reacted.

"Isn't she too young for that?" Kitsuchi answered.

It was dinnertime. As a lady, Keiko would not get mad at her beloved husband but she slammed the dining table and flashed her pink eyes towards him. "No dear. Your daughter is eighteen years old! She should start being independent!"

"She might get married young."

"You married me when I was nineteen!" Keiko glared at him. "Kurotsuchi is single, has zero romance and is too boyish to attract decent men who would pass our rigid requirements! Actually, I'm more worried that she'll die _without_ any children! She's too fixated on being the Tsuchikage!"

"Nope. You told me about Deidara—"

"That boy is dead, _dear._ And even if he were alive, he's too… unstable for our daughter. _"_

"Besides she's too you—"

Whenever Kitsuchi dotes on Kurotsuchi and treats her like a baby girl, when in fact she is not anymore, enrages the taijutsu master. Keiko understands how a young, ambitious woman would think _and_ feel if her people around her cage her from experiencing things because of her sex and age would drive her insane.

Keiko went through almost the same thing although, in a different light. She did not come from a prominent ninja clan. Their family's jutsu were limited to mediocre, earth-release techniques. Her meek father, worrisome mother and depressed older brother believed that her dreams were too far-fetched for a ninja family of their standing. But Keiko, even at a young age, did not lose heart. She performed well during her academy days and had caught the eye the late master of the Odori-style Taijutsu when she was eleven, a year before her graduation. As a genin, Keiko religiously practiced the exclusive deadly, dance martial art. She was deemed a natural practitioner of Odori because of her intelligence and in-born strength. It didn't take long for her to master it and introduce a few techniques to the discipline. During the year when Keiko was preparing to join ANBU (she's seventeen years old), she earned the nickname 'Beauty of Iwa' because of her splendor as a woman and kunoichi.

But the fame didn't faze her at all. She had an unwavering determination to achieve her dream; to be the Head of Iwagakure's ANBU corps. Keiko, at nineteen, had already become a division commander. She thought she could achieve it as long as she delivered exemplary results, performed more than necessary and kept her character in check…

…until a marriage proposal was made by the Kamizuru clan to theirs, the Koishi (小石) Clan. Seeing the Third Tsuchikage himself with his eldest son, Kitsuchi, speaking with her delighted but nervous parents shocked. She knew exactly what had been happening that time. The respected jounin commander of Iwagakure had expressed his interest in her several times but Keiko turned him down many times because she thought that somebody from the Kamizuru Clan should marry a woman from a more prominent clan. Keiko had prayed that the jounin was just playing around, but that meeting crushed her denied wishes. He was not a bad choice, but she had other things on her mind. If she marries, she would be made to retire from her ANBU career… and Keiko will not be able to achieve her dreams which Marriage was out of the question if she had a choice. But Koishi Keiko didn't have a choice. Her parents were too honored that their daughter would be wed to the Kamizuru Clan. The date was pushed forward; Keiko and Kitsuchi was wed a month after the proposal.

A year into the marriage, her husband had asked her to quit ANBU because she was with child. Reluctantly, she did but Keiko turned distant towards Kitsuchi subconsciously. During her 8th week, she had a miscarriage and she blamed her husband for it. The second time around, Keiko had another miscarriage at age 24. That made her depressed and she lashed out at Kitsuchi for forcing her into a marriage that she cannot fulfil. But he did not retaliate or argue with her whenever she would have episodes of violence. Eventually, after learning and accepting that the combined effect of her depression and hormonal imbalance caused her miscarriages, she somewhat felt guilty. Her strength returned and from that day on, she vowed that she will do everything in her power to help her children achieve their dreams.

Keiko, though, felt a bit cheated. With thirty-nine long years in the marriage (and counting), she only had one daughter and she had her a bit late. What's worse, her daughter is experiencing almost the same, shackling fate that Keiko had.

Both chopsticks that she was using was thrown with precision towards Kitsuchi's eyeballs. Her dark husband, caught them with his left right hand even whilst drinking water.

"She's still young, Keiko." He reiterated. "Your aim is still as good as ever."

"You will have to kill me before you marry her off like a cow but it's high time she experiences freedom, independence and love!" Her already loose kimono's neckline dropped even lower when she attempted to throw the table up which was stopped by her husband.

"Let's talk about this later." He said. "Your kimono's falling."

"I don't care, husband." Although, she lifted her kimono back to where it was supposed to be. "I will not tolerate your overprotectiveness over Kurotsuchi."

"We'll find a decent husband for her, but as of now, the marriage proposals are no good. There's no need to rush it."

"But you keep on threatening any male friend she has even though they're not suitors."

"I'm just being cautious."

The Beauty of Iwa wanted to scream at her husband, but her desire to look prim and proper got the best of her. She recalled some of her tiny mishaps earlier, but they were minute compared to her daughter's dark fate ahead. "Dear, your daughter's turning nineteen. In another year, she'll be twenty. Before we know it, she'll be thirty. Beyond that age, she will not be able to find a decent man to marry her. Not to mention, our young woman—"

"Baby girl—"

"Dear, baby girls are daughters who have not started menstruating. Kurotsuchi had her period when she was twelve years old. She has been a lady for six years now. Anyway, our young woman is aspiring to be a Tsuchikage. If she replaces father in the next ten years and _she's unmarried,_ she won't be able to get married anymore! Look at the beautiful Fifth Mizukage? She's gorgeous, talented and intelligent but she's unmarried all because she became a Kage at the wrong age."

"Keiko, you're overreacting. Our little girl is still our baby; she won't get married now, or in the next ten years."

"Well, that's fine with me!" Keiko kicked the table and turned it over. Her kimono's sash loosened even more, allowing anybody to see her well-sculpted shoulders, collarbones, and left leg. But she didn't care. Keiko was mad and she'd rather put shame on her body than her ideals. "Let her die as an unloved, old maid who didn't live her life to the fullest!"

Ever since that day until present time, Keiko was at a loss with Kurotsuchi's father's reasoning. Her husband still believes that Kurotsuchi, is a baby girl even though she's twenty-two and had clearly showed signs of infatuation ever since they had returned from the emergency meeting in the Land of Iron.

When Kurotsuchi had left for the Land of Snow, she had attempted to talk some sense into her selfish, paranoid husband. It was the same scene: dinnertime, except it happened about four years after the Fourth Shinobi War.

"Dear, did you notice something in Kurotsuchi?"

"She's starting to mature, but still childish. She never defeated father in a one-on-one battle yet but she's already close to. Whenever I spar with her, I feel like she can kill me if I let my guard down for a second."

"Is that so?" _I have to lure his attention and then, drop the bomb when he becomes too engrossed!_ "I guess she really is turning too strong. She defeated me one time." It was a huge lie. When Kurotsuchi challenged her mother for a taijutsu match, it only took the younger kunoichi three minutes before she was howling in pain.

"You?!" Aghast, Kitsuchi's already round eyes became rounder and his prominent jaws dropped down. He thinks highly of his wife, and her losing a taijutsu match is a bigger deal for him than for her. "Even _I_ and _father_ cannot defeat you in a one-on-one taijutsu match."

She giggled a bit and combed up a few strands of the strawberry blonde hair that fell down to her eyes. _Just a bit more._ "No. If you stopped treating me like your wife and father stops treating me as his daughter-in-law, then there's a chance you would defeat me." She said modestly.

"I sparred with you many times even before we got married and all I did was lost. Even father said that he would not be able to defeat you in a taijutsu battle even in his prime."

"Father even said she's almost ready to take the helm." She poured placed one of her pork dumplings in his plate.

Kitsuchi hates eating her share of pork or beef. "Keiko—"

"You have work tomorrow." She squinted, causing Kitsuchi to have a mini heart attack. Keiko knew how to scare Kitsuchi and it works almost always, except for matters concerning Kurotsuchi. "You need _protein._ "

He ate that pork dumpling and took the rest from her plate earning a sweet smile from the Lady.

"Speaking of work, you never told me much about the emergency meeting except about Kurotsuchi's presentation."

"Well… there's nothing to it. They just connected the pieces they had to come up with the mission to the Land of Snow. Kurotsuchi though… I've never seen her so passionate about something…" Kitsuchi nodded at the thought. "If the mission goes well, she'll get the credit from saving our country from a possible epidemic."

"It's all about the Union now, dear. We're not warmongers anymore." Keiko took Kitsuchi's serving of anko.

"Hey—"

She placed her index finger between them. "Too much sweets are bad for you."

"I train every day. You can ask our helper for more, don't just take my anko—"

"No." She took one and sensually played with it while taking small bites. "I gave you my dumplings, so I shall take your anko."

Kitsuchi closed his eyes and slouched over to compose himself. When he was about to resign himself to get another serving of anko (Keiko didn't want their maids to wait on them as they eat), Keiko threw the bowl which he caught from behind. "If that was a kunai, my hand would be bleeding now."

"It isn't a kunai darling, and I won't just throw one at you for no reason." Keiko placed her chopsticks on the table. It was the best time to bring up the matter on Kurotsuchi. "That girl had grown so much. Who'd have known that after the war and all the things concerning the Shinobi Union, she would mature so much as a ninja and a _woman_?"

"Precisely. I'm thinking of…" Kitsuchi gulped down the remainder of his miso soup as his wife prayed that he'll blurt out that Kurotsuchi should get married. The suspense of him returning the empty bowl back on the table's surface was killing her. "Thinking of passing the title, jounin commander to her."

 _What the hell did I expect?!_ Keiko blew some of the hair that fell down in front of her face again. "You're the perfect man for that." She said coyly. "Besides, Kurotsuchi doesn't want to be tied down in the village. Missions are her thing, not a tiny desk and meetings. She doesn't have to be a jounin commander to become a Tsuchikage." They were straying away from her intended conversation flow. She had to make him talk about the current mission.

"You have a point. What can I do without you?" He said sarcastically. Kitsuchi loved Keiko but he'd only listen to her if they both have the same opinion about something. This time, they didn't so Keiko had to find a way to stop him from doing what he was [most likely] planning; to make Kurotsuchi a jounin commander to keep a keener eye on her. Keiko didn't want that for her daughter.

"Nothing."

"Except agree." Kitsuchi, like Kurotsuchi, had a bottomless appetite. He was on his fifth cup of rice. "Maybe you're right. She's all grown up now."

"Indeed."

"You're right. Well, you're always right..." Kitsuchi said while eyeing the untouched gyoza. He reached for it and quickly stuffed it down his throat. "...but I think it's too early."

"What is _too early?_ " It was about time. "She's twenty-two, dear; an adult in all aspects of her life. Nothing is too early for her."

"No. Even father thinks that she's still too raw. She needs more EQ." Kurotsuchi nodded while chewing his fourth or fifth piece of gyoza.

 _He's talking about her being the Tsuchikage. But I can use the words he just said._ The fair-haired lady mentally gave an evil laugh. "I bet that her EQ will drastically improve once she gets back from this mission. I'm staking all of my sake collection to you."

He grunted. Of course, the man of the house got excited at the thought of drinking a hundred year old rice wine from the Land of Tea. "What makes you say so? I'm looking forward to that bottle from the Land of Tea." He was finally caught off guard.

"You'll have it in due time." Keiko smirked. "You see, Kurotsuchi has not experienced situations requiring adult reasoning except for missions and sometimes, her raw emotions hinders her from making accurate judgments. She's smart, yes, but lacking in some areas. But, something happened to Kurotsuchi in the past month. I think this emotional maturity would gradually manifest in her." She giggled at her perplexed husband.

"How could that happen?" Kitsuchi almost choked on the last piece of gyoza and drank water to push the food down.

"Did she meet somebody new in the emergency meeting?" Keiko chuckled a bit when she tried to imagine what kind of man her daughter was swooning for. "You should have noticed that. _You're_ in close proximity the whole time."

"What do you mean?" Kitsuchi stopped eating and looked at her. He didn't like what his wife was pointing out.

"Our daughter likes a man whom she has met in the Land of Iron."

Kitsuchi's nostrils flared. "HUH?!"

"Yes." Her strategy a few years ago failed. Her second strategy would be a bit different. She'll pretend that she's a bit shocked because the guy is from another country but she doesn't really care about those things. Besides, they're top ninjas of their home villages which is not entirely, a bad thing. She moved nearer to him and placed a hand on his clenched fist. "Calm down. I'm telling you this because it is a matter that might trouble the council. Who attended it this time?"

"Hmm… Except for the five kage, the other ninjas present are Chojuro and Ao of Kirigakure, Kankuro of Sunagakure, Shikamaru and Shizune of Konohagakure, Atsui and C of Kumogakure." The dark-haired man gritted his teeth. "H-ow… How could that happen? They're all unqualified."

"Relax, dear. Let's go through it logically. Which among these men are about her age?"

"Chojuro, C, Shikamaru, the Kazekage and his brother."

"Shikamaru is the one who married the Kazekage's sister, am I right?" The inner witch was almost showing herself. Keiko was keen on the idea of marrying her only daughter to a prominent man in another hidden village if he had good genes, influence and money. Nobles were out of the question since she hated their gut so she was always prowling for good men… and apparently, their choices are limited in Iwagakure.

Kitsuchi wanted to find a husband manlier, stronger and kinder than him which is almost impossible to find because only a few people are stronger than him in Iwagakure and those who are stronger than him have a few loose screws in their heads. Keiko initially understood his strictness, but now that there was an opportunity, she has to convince his stubborn mind…subtly.

"Yes, he's the one." Kitsuchi said. "The Kazekage had already acknowledged the Nara for his intelligence. But I can't imagine him giving up one of the best wind users in the land because of marriage. I think it's a bad move for the Kazekage. He really is…green."

"But he's been running their village for almost six years. He can't be that green." She sighed. "So that narrows down the list to Chojuro, C, the Kazekage and Kankuro." Keiko tied her long, pale red hair with the pink ribbon she keeps in her sleeve. That evening was particularly humid and she hated that because it makes her skin all flushed and her hair drier.

"All of them are… bad." Kitsuchi muttered.

"Dear, they're all top jounins in their respective countries. They can't be _too bad_. If Kurotsuchi's "

"I'm not talking about that. They're not from Iwagakure." He shook his head in disgust.

"Do you have anybody else in mind?" She stretched her neck. Putting on the frontage that she's a bit bored in the conversation would make him think that he's running the boat. Her objective this time is see her daughter earn a bit of independence and experience love because she thinks Kurotsuchi would have lesser chances of getting married if she becomes the Tsuchikage in her mid-twenties. "Remember, we have looking for viable men for years and it was all for naught. Maybe it's time to look for somebody in other lands."

"Our daughter would have to be sent off to some foreign land."

"Maybe we can make arrangements. Kitsuchi, our daughter is in line to be the next Tsuchikage. We have the upper hand in the negotiations." She didn't want to say what she was thinking outright because Kitsuchi would notice that she's manipulating. The fact that she is, all the more she needed to be careful.

 _You have to say that our daughter would be the Tsuchikage so we can convince this foreign guy to live with her in Iwagakure once she is inaugurated. The marriage won't happen until she ascends to power or else everything we had invested will be put to waste!_

 _I don't really care about politics though. All I want to see is a handsome grandson because I don't have a cute son._

"Hmmm. Why do you say the right things at the right time?" Kitsuchi bowed to his wife. "We can entertain marriage offers from foreign ninjas but they'll have to be married once she's the Tsuchikage so our clan would remain in place. This man, whoever he is, would have no choice because Kurotsuchi would be of much higher rank than no matter how great a jounin he is." He took her hand and kissed its back. "I can't believe you ended up marrying me."

Kitsuchi laid his head on her lap and searched for her warm eyes. Even if his woman and their daughter have exactly the same eyes, Keiko's were warmer and he preferred it over Kurotsuchi's since he finds solace just by looking at it. From his angle, Kamizuru Keiko's face was inverted nonetheless, striking. His hand stroked her cheeks which made her smile.

 _I win!_

"I didn't marry you because I had a choice. But I could have done worse if I didn't." She had to appear confused, but in her mind, she's kicking and jumping because of what Kitsuchi had said. She had him in the palm of her hands in that situation and he didn't even know it.

What she told him was true. At first, the ordinary at birth yet extraordinarily beautiful and talented girl from the Koishi Clan was reluctant to accept that she was married. Consummating it and keeping her husband company whenever needed is something she saw as a chore. It took seven years to realize that she had grown to love him. She could not ask anything more from a husband who had literally worshipped her but she didn't want her spoiled daughter to go through the same thing… because Kurotsuchi is less tolerant to conform.

Out of exhilaration, she kissed his forehead. "So husband, what should we do?" If things went well, then she would be lucky to marry whoever this man she has placed her eyes on. Her mission now is to find out who this guy is and steer her husband, his father and the Village's Council to have the only natural born girl in the Kamizuru Clan espouse him.

"We will start finding eligible bachelors who will meet our tastes. For the mean time, I will talk with father about this idea and see if we can get the council's approval." He actually agreed to her. It was an exemplary way to complete today's mission, Keiko brood over.

"I shall start doing it first thing in the morning, dear."

"Can I close my eyes for a bit?" Since they had been married, Kitsuchi would always ask permission from Keiko if he wants to sleep with his head on her lap not because of courtesy but partly due to the risk of accidentally breaking his neck is Keiko moves suddenly. She had enormous strength in her even in normal movements consequently, if Kitsuchi would sleep on her, she has to keep still or an accidental nudge from her might cause her husband some minor injuries.

She positioned herself in a more comfortable position before laying on her back. A smile which she has been suppressing drew on her face. All she has to do now is find out if the devil whom her daughter was smarmy on is worth the attention. If he is, then all she has to do is to convince the large man who is snoring on her.

She had no choice but to slither her legs very gently to not wake and injure him all at the same time.

* * *

Notes:

About Keiko – Since Kurotsuchi is arguably, the best looking person in Iwa, she had to have the hottest mom ever. I mean come on, her dad _is_ Kitsuchi (no offense there). The only similarity they have is the black hair and their fighting style. Because of that, the idea of Keiko was born. Well, the details about her are mostly spontaneous and thought of while writing this particular chapter. So here's some data about her:

Name: Koishi Keiko

Age: 58 (at the time of the story but looks a lot younger than her actual age)

Eye Color: Pink (like Kurotsuchi in the manga)

Hair Color: Strawberry Blonde

Hair type: Very long (reaches her lower back) and fine; curls at the ends with some short strands that keeps on falling in front of her face

Height: 5'2 or 160 cm (A little shorter than Kurotsuchi)

Weight: 100 lbs or 45.36 kg

Jutsu: Odori-style Jutsu

Nature Release: Earth Release

Kekkei Genkai: None

Ninja Rank: Jounin, ANBU (retired)

STATS

Taijutsu: 5

Ninjutsu: 2

Genjutsu: 3.5

Hand Seals: 2

Intelligence: 4

Strength: 4.5

Stamina: 3

Speed: 5

Total: 29

About Kitsuchi – I made him a bit older in this fic. He'd be around the same age as Keiko.

* * *

Some terms:

Odori (踊り) style taijutsu – A taijutsu based on feminine, dance movements. The school used to only accept female disciples, but in recent times, even male students too. However, only women can earn the title of 'Master'.

Koishi (小石) – this means 'pebble'. I chose this for Keiko's clan name because I've envisioned her as somebody who had come from a 'small' family yet, became somebody bigger than her beginnings.

* * *

This chapter is mainly an introduction to Keiko - my OC mother of Kurotsuchi. I want her to be cool, I hope you'll find her cool too.

I'm currently writing the next few chapters and once I'm done with them, I'll post them in bulk just like my first upload (hehehe). The basic flow of the **The Black Ones** is already inked in my head but there are times when I feel a bit unsatisfied by some parts that's why I take a bit longer in writing. Also, during the writing process, my head keeps on making up stuff along the way and if I think that it's pretty cool, then I'll tweak the plot a bit.

While I'm at it, I'm looking forward to reading your reviews. :)

I hope you'll wait for the updates!

xoxo


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